The roly-poly earthworm...

One of the many children's stories I wrote for my grand daughter when she was very young...

Willie, the Roly Poly Earthworm

(A bedtime story written by Grandma)

Once upon a time in the land ‘under the porch’ lived a little brown worm.  He was a lovely little worm, all sleek and shiny and long.  And he was a happy little worm… except for one thing.  He worried about things.  One of the things he worried about was why he looked so different from the other members of his family.  He was sleek and shiny and long, and they were all tiny and grey and small.  They could curl themselves up into little balls.  And although he could curl himself up also, he could never curl up as tight as they did. 

One day when he was laying around in the dirt under the porch with his grandma, Mrs. Roly Poly III, he looked sad.  His grandma, who couldn’t bear to see anyone sad, asked him what was wrong.  Willy (that was his name) just put his head down and mumbled something that Mrs. Roly Poly III couldn’t understand. 

“Willy”, she said gently, “You know you can tell me anything. If something is bothering you, please tell me what it is so I can make it better.”

“But it’s silly, Grandma. You will laugh at me if I tell you.”

Coming closer to Willy, Mrs. RP III whispered to him, “Sweetie, I’d never laugh at you for any reason.  I love you.  I might laugh with you if we thought something was funny, but I’d never laugh at you.  And if something is wrong, I’ll do everything in my power to make it right.  Do you believe me, Willy?”

“Yes, Grandma”, he said “I do believe you… and I love you too.”

“Then tell me Sweetie, what’s bothering you?”

And he did.  He told her how he had always wondered why he looked so different from the rest of his family.

His grandma looked at him and smiled.  “Oh Willy”, she said, “There‘s a simple answer to that.  Let’s go over to the big garden and I’ll explain.”

So Willy and his grandma inched their way out from the dirt under the porch and worked their way over to the garden where the dirt was darker and looser and very nice.

“This place is great, Grandma.  How come we haven’t been here before?”

“Well, our people have lived in ‘the dirt under the porch’ for generations. We don’t travel too far from home. But I knew you would like it here.”

“Why is that, Grandma?” Willy asked. “Why did you know I would like it here?”

Mrs. Roly Poly III smiled and said, “Sit down, Sweetie, and let me tell you a story.”

“Do you know the 'big people that live in the house' connected to the porch under which we all live?”

“Yes, there’s a lady, a man, and a little girl.” 

“That’s right. And our story begins with that little girl.”

One day a long time ago, on a Sunday morning, that little girl was playing in the house when she spotted a tiny critter inching his way across the floor.  He was very small and all alone and the little girl felt sorry for him. So she picked him up very carefully and took him outside on the porch.  She didn’t want him to be alone so she put him in ‘the dirt under the porch’ where she knew us Roly Polys lived.

That little critter was you, Willie.  We took you in, cared for you, and came to love you very much.  But the truth is, Willie, that you’re not really a roly poly, you’re actually an earth worm.”

“An earth worm!”  Willy cried, “What’s an earth worm?”

“Well”, his grandma said, “If we sit here in the garden long enough, you’ll see.”

And sure enough, after a bit, there came along a whole string of earth worms, sleek and shiny, long and beautiful gliding in and out of the soft garden dirt like fish through water.

“Wow! Said Willie, they're beautiful!”

After the worms had passed, Willie’s grandma said, “Willie, your Roly Poly family loves you very much.  But we have always known that one day you might want to move over here to the big garden where the dirt is better for earth worms. Do you want to do that now?”

Willie sat thinking quietly for a little while.  Finally he said, “No, Grandma, I want to go back home with you to the dirt under the porch.”

Grandma Roly Poly smiled happily and said, “Then that’s’ just what we’ll do.  Maybe later when you’re older you might want to come back to the big garden.”

So Willy and his grandma returned to their little home in ‘the dirt under the porch’… where all his Roly Poly family waited for him with open arms.

  

  

And Willie wasn’t worried anymore.  He had learned some important things:

1.   That he was an earthworm!

2.   That he was loved!

And…

3.   That if you’re worried about something, it’s best to tell someone who loves you.

The End!

(If you haven't already realized this, this story was inspired by the actual happening that my grand daughter told me about... where she found the worm in the house and put him under the porch so he wouldn't be lonely)

and now on to *adult subjects* (nah, that sounds like an R-rated film)...

so-oo back to non-storied post...

I'm attempting to make two new recipes this morning. Both are from the food network.  Yes, I'm running out of 'good TV' and am starting to watch cooking shows. Anyway, this first recipe is a combination chocolate cake and flan.  You swirl caramel in the bottom of a bundt cake pan, then pour in your chocolate batter, then pour the flan on top.  When it comes out, the flan is on the top and the cake is on the bottom... and before you serve it, you swirl a little more caramel across the top.  It looked wonderful. But I'll let you know...

The second recipe is a breakfast bread pudding that you make the night before, refrigerate, and then bake in the morning and serve along with bacon glazed with maple syrup.  Also sounds wonderful, but will let you know...

Happy Saturday!