Yum Yum and No No
Written and Illustrated by
Carolyn Pyzynski © May 23, 1994
Once upon a time there was a little girl, Paula, who lived in the magic forest with her Mother, in a house made of candy. There were candy cane supports, mints, gum drops, caramels, lollipops and lots of icing.
Paula's Mother told her not to eat any of the candy because it would hurt their home. Paula did not listen to her Mother. She began to eat tiny bits of this and that - inside and out of their candy home.
At first the bites were very small and didn't show. Soon, however, the bites became quite large. No matter how her mother scolded her, Paula did not stop eating.
She loved the chocolate shutters, the licorice wall trim and the gum drop table. No matter how her Mother tried to patch the holes with icing, the candy canes would not hold the house up...and what do you think happened?
If you guessed that the house, walls and roof came tumbling down you were right. That meant they no longer had a house to live in. When she saw what happened, she knew she was to blame. She cried and cried, "Mother, please forgive me.....I'll never disobey again." Her Mother forgave her but told Paula they'd have to leave the magic forest.
They set out to find a new home, wearing what they had on. Luckily they did find their rain coats and hats and Paula's boots. One night it stormed and rained and they were very cold. "Mommy, I'm so cold and tired and frightened.
On their way through the forest, Paula saw a mother robin in her nest feeding three baby birds. She watched the mommy bird stop and listen on the ground for worms in the forest floor and to pull one out and fly back and feed her babies. How hard that mommy worked. And, she knew that her own mommy worked to keep her safe and fed. And she was ashamed of herself for being naughty and causing such trouble for her mother.
A little further on their search she saw a mother squirrel teaching baby how to hunt for nuts. She watched mother squirrel show her baby how to run fast up a tree if he heard danger coming. Paula also watched how very well the baby squirrel minded his mommy.
Paula saw a mother duck taking her ducklings to the river and how all the little ducklings followed their mother.
As night time came, Paula was afraid because she heard strange noises in the forest. They happened to find a woodsman who was camping out for the night. He was strong and brave. He liked all people and animals. He even knew how to keep wolves away without hurting them by building a large fire and kept a torch handy if they came too close. The woodsman felt sorry for them and let them stay there until morning. Then he told them they would all go and look for a new place to build a home and he would make them a log cabin.
They finally came to a lovely place and decided that it would be a great place to live.
When he finished building their new home, they thanked him over and over. The little girl not only learned from mother robin, and mother squirrel, and mother duck, but also from the woodsman, how kind and helpful he had been. She never disobeyed again. And they lived happily ever after.Send regular Mail to:
Carolyn Pyzynski
1715 River Bluff Blvd.
Rockford, IL 61103
webmatron@columbiacounty.net