It was you, blue kangaroo, and the squirrels did it, too!

Joy checked out a charming little book from the library and we read it last night. It’s called “It was You, Blue Kangaroo” by Emma Chichester Clark. It’s about a little girl named Lily who blames all of her mischief on her little blue stuffed kangaroo. I guess this happens a lot—kids having a scapegoat for their naughtiness. Joy doesn’t specifically blame her antics on anyone else, she just says, “I don’t know who did that.” And she sticks to it, to the bitter end, if necessary.

Her mother actually had a scapegoat. Her mother used to go out to play and would get so engrossed in what she was doing that she would fail to go inside to go potty. She wet her pants. A lot. And when Gigi would ask her, “Why? Why did you wet your pants?” Joy’s mother would tell her, “I didn’t. The squirrels wet my pants.”

I guess Joy’s mother didn’t really think through the logistics of that statement—even though she used it consistently. How could squirrels wet your pants? Did she take them off and give them to the squirrels who then put them on and wet them, then gave them back? And while we are talking about squirrels, I am not sure where Joy’s mother came up with squirrels. There were no squirrels running around where Joy’s mother lived. I don’t think Joy’s mother had ever even seen a squirrel. The squirrels, nevertheless, took the fall, on a regular basis, for the wetting of Joy’s mother’s pants.

I guess that’s why Joy’s mother thinks “It was You, Blue Kangaroo” is so funny. And maybe someday she will let Joy in on the joke. Maybe. She just has to make sure the squirrels are gone for good and that no blue kangaroos come to take their place.

Posted by The Editor for Busy Body, who has always, obviously, been very busy.