The Playpen
Once upon a time there was a little girl called Carolyn Rose Smith. She was a sweet,little girl; a very lively, sweet, energetic little girl.
She was also a very helpful child and each day, every minute of every day, she devoted her time to helping her parents. She tidied out the cupboards …..on the floor, re-arranged the saucepans…….around the kitchen, de-headed the flowers …all of them, washed the dishes….in lathers of soap bubbles, emptied the dustbin….. in a little trail out to the compost heap. Yes, as I mentioned she was a very helpful, little child.
Unfortunately, this little girl had a problem. It was her parents. For some reason or other they didn’t seem to appreciate all her efforts. They seemed to find all that help just a little bit too helpful.
One day she noticed that they were building something….out of wood. They told her that it was a playpen for her. Carolyn Rose Smith was delighted. She watched the entire procedure each night as her Daddy sawed the pieces of wood to the correct length and her Mummy sanded them. Then her Mummy held the pieces of wood for her Daddy and he tapped them into place. No nails were used. It was a masterpiece of dowelling and screws.
Carolyn waited very patiently for this creation to be completed. And finally one day she spotted her favourite toys being popped into the playpen. Next thing, her Daddy swung her up into the air and into the playpen. She was thrilled.
She busied herself with her toys. Then she noticed something strange. She noticed that her parents had forgotten to put a door in her playpen. She didn't want this omission to offend her parents so she didn't whine or wail. She simply played with her toys in her new house and when she was ready to leave, she walked over to the side of the pen, pulled the dowelling sticks apart and quietly slipped out….no bother at all.
For some strange reason or other, her parents were not pleased.