Humpty Revisited

While walking to school on Monday Elliot was reciting the classic nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" - this is Elliot's version ... 

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a WAAAALLL

Humpty Dumpty sat on a WAAAALLL

Humpty Dumpty had to FALL

All the ladies and the MAAAN and the horse

TRIED and TRIED but they didn't put ...

They couldn't put Sir Cumfrey TOGETHER

So ..... the ladies and the MAAAN and the horse

TRIED .... Sir Cumfrey was broken ..." 

(PAUSE) 

"Mommy?" 

"Yes Elliot?" 

"What is Humpty Dumpty about?" 

"Well, it's a nursery rhyme about a man who happens to be an egg and he's sitting on top of a very high wall." 

"Why is he on top of the wall?"  (Because Elliot is four years old and of course a four year old has no problem with an egg man as long as he's not sitting on top of a wall ...)

"Um, well, I'm not sure - it's just part of the story.  So, the story is about this man, who is an egg, who is on this high wall and one day he falls off the wall and because he's an egg and he's so fragile he breaks into thousands of tiny pieces.  And there are so many pieces that the King's Men couldn't put him back together.  He was really broken." 

"WEEELLLLL, but what is the story ABOUT?" 

"I think it's a story meant to remind little boys and little girls that they shouldn't sit on top of very high things because they might fall off and get very hurt and be really broken.  And sometimes when we make silly choices and do things that are dangerous we can get hurt and sometimes we can get so hurt we can't be fixed."  (I say this to him because I'm a Mom and I take every opportunity to remind my children that our choices have consequences.) 

"Um ......... OR it's a story about you shouldn't fall OFF the wall." 

(Pause) 

"Sir Cumfrey should have had a helmet on."