Snow, Stress, and Story Time Monday

Although the weatherman says it is raining right now, it is actually snowing, at least on my street. During recess, there were a few flakes, but by dismissal time there were lots of big, wet, heavy snowflakes. This caused much excitement among the kids, who dreamed of a snow day tomorrow. Paul walked home, enjoying his private time in this snowy wonderland. When I drove home later, the house looked beautifully serene nestled in the white trees and grass.

In the garden the snow had covered the netting we had put up as a determent to the deer, making it unusually easy to see the lines of the netting.

It was quite pretty.

Our little magnolia tree was also very pretty, as the white snow contrasted with the green and bronze of the leaves.

Fetcher wasn't happy about this white stuff. He kept twitching his head to keep the flakes out of his eyes as he rather gingerly picked his way across the wet driveway and grass to come see me.

This little snowfall has made me feel all cozy and calm, which is something I really needed, given my busy weekend. Along with the regular weekend schedule of housework, tutoring, and karate lessons, I did some clean-up at my mom's house, took down our Christmas tree and other decorations, and rearranged the sewing room and the living room. Ben and I went out Saturday night, which was fun, and saw Ben's brother and his family Sunday. Overhanging all this activity was a dark cloud of stress from the fact that Ben's brother, Jeff, went into the ICU last week as a result of some major surgery on his foot.

When a family member is in trouble like that, you need all the help you can get to relieve your anxiety. Enjoying the snow is one way, and so is reading fun books to kids. Which brings us to Story Time Monday.


Today's book was The Hatseller and the Monkeys, a West African folktale retold and illustrated by Babu Wague Diakite. It is the story of an African hatseller who falls asleep under a mango tree filled with monkeys, who steal all but one of his hats while he sleeps. When he awakes he tries to get his hats back by shouting at the monkeys, waving his hands at them, and throwing a stick at them. They just imitate his gestures and sounds, which makes him madder. But finally he stops, eats some mangoes, and now, with a full stomach and thinking better, he drops his hat on the ground. Again the monkeys copy him, throwing their hats to the ground. Success! He quickly grabs the hats and sets off on his way.

Does this story sound familiar? It's the same tale as the well-known Caps for Sale, written and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. I always wondered how monkeys could be part of the East European setting of this story. Now I know; he simply transplanted them from the original West African folktale.