Three Little Kittens and a Cautionary Tale About Mittens

Three little kittens they lost their mittens, and they began to cry,
"Oh mother dear, we sadly fear that we have lost our mittens."




"What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie."
"Meeow, meeow, meeow, now we shall have no pie."


The three little kittens they found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh mother dear, see here, see here
For we have found our mittens."


"Put on your mittens, you silly kittens
And you shall have some pie"



"Meeow, meeow, meeow,
Now let us have some pie."




The three little kittens put on their mittens
And soon ate up the pie,
"Oh mother dear, we greatly fear
That we have soiled our mittens."




"What! soiled you mittens, you naughty kittens!"
Then they began to cry, "Meeow, meeow, meeow"
Then they began to sigh.



The three little kittens they washed their mittens
And hung them out to dry,
"Oh mother dear, do you not hear
That we have washed our mittens."




"What! washed your mittens, you are good kittens."
But I smell a rat close by,
"Meeow, meeow, meeow" we smell a rat close by...



Kittens and mittens here.

Why I No Longer Teach School

It was winter and the kindergarten teacher was helping her students suit up to go home. 

One of the little boys asked for help with his boots, and she soon saw why.  Even with her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on.  By the time she wrestled the second boot onto his foot, she had worked up a sweat. 

And when he said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet," she almost whimpered aloud.  Sure enough, they were.

Pulling them off wasn't any easier than putting them on, but she persevered.

She struggled to remain calm as they worked together, putting the boots on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue rather than yell at him.  He was, after all, a small child. 

So, with a sigh, she went to work, struggling to pull the ill-fitting boots off his feet.

Finally she succeeded... which is when he announced, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them.  She made me wear his hat. too."

Close to weeping, she knelt down again and, with a massive effort, wrestled the boots onto his feet once more. "Now," she said, where are your mittens?"

He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

Mittens, hats, and boots here and here.