The boy who wouldn't wash his hands
Posted 10-13-2008 at 07:34 PM by bluemtnrunner
Updated 10-14-2008 at 08:58 AM by bluemtnrunner (typo)
Updated 10-14-2008 at 08:58 AM by bluemtnrunner (typo)
My son and I wrote this when he was five. He is 14 now and we still will tell it to each other from time to time. We never did come up with a title.
He was never really sure why he told that first lie. It seemed like such a little thing when his mother asked if he had washed his hands, he hid his hands so that his parents could not see and said, "Yes." But then he realized that he kind of liked feeling like this. He had gotten away with it. Things were so busy at their house, he could probably get away with this forever. When he came in from playing, he would run straight to the bathroom and turn on the water so his mom would think he had remembered to wash up. On bath nights he would put water in the tub and spend his time throwing toys into the water making big splashes. After his "bath" he would run up to his room so his parents wouldn't see. By the time they came up to check, he was under the covers and the light was off, his lie was safely hidden from their view. But then things started to get bad. The dirt piled on until his hands were so crusty that he couldn’t bend his fingers to turn on the water even if he wanted to wash. His finger nails got longer and started to curve over. They were supported by the dirt underneath them so they would never break. They were turning into claws.
Because he could no longer get his huge, crusty, claws around the spigot, he couldn’t turn on the water to wash the gunk off the rest of him and in no time became covered in mud and muck. The dirt took over everywhere. His face was tight and heavy, he couldn’t open his mouth all of the way, even his throat was dry and dusty. When he tried to speak nothing came out but a deep, dirty growl.
His feet were three times their real size because of all the red clay caked on. When he walked he had to stomp or his toes dragged the ground. His feet became so heavy that the ground shook when he came near. None of the kids would play with him, the big people all ran and hid. He found himself alone with no hope. He couldn’t go to his parents after lying for so long. Besides, they wouldn't even recognize him now. He couldn’t hide himself in the house, so he ran away to the woods. He was so scared and alone. He wanted to go home but how could he. His parents would never forgive him.
One day he saw his mother on the edge of the woods crying and yelling his name. He missed her so much but when he ran to her she was scared by the monster in front of her. She ran screaming for the town and safety. Even his mother did not recognize him. All was lost. Forsaken, the boy ran through the woods as hard as his enormous mud feet would take him. He was crying so hard that he didn’t notice the river until he was right up on the bank. He tried to stop but he toppled forward and then sank down and down. His long fingernails clawed for the surface but the weight of the mud dragged him deeper. He thought, “I’m not going to fight this anymore, I have done this to myself.” He let the water carry him to its depth. But as he sank deeper, the water was washing away the mud and the dirt that weighed him down. Just as he the watery world around him was going dark, his body, free from the weight that had dragged him down, suddenly changed direction and he shot upward at lightening speed. When he surfaced he was moving so fast that his body was propelled completely out of the water. He landed on the bank gasping, breathing deeply, washed clean by the river.
His first thought was of his parents. How he wanted to run to his mom and tell her that he was home and that he was sorry for all he had done. But he knew he couldn’t go to them. His mother had seen that he was a monster, she did not know him anymore, she had run screaming from him. They would never take him back, never forgive him.
It was then that he heard a scream, not of fright, but of elation. He looked up to see his mother standing over him, tears of joy in her eyes. She grabbed him up and wrapped him in the warmth of her arms and her love and carried him home. His father greeted him with an over pouring of love. His parents filled him so full with their love and relief to have him home again that he felt he would explode. His parents loved him, no matter what he had done, no matter that he had become a monster and told them lies. They loved him no matter what.
But just to be on the safe side though, the boy vowed to never tell another lie, never hide anything from his parents and to always, always wash his hands.
He was never really sure why he told that first lie. It seemed like such a little thing when his mother asked if he had washed his hands, he hid his hands so that his parents could not see and said, "Yes." But then he realized that he kind of liked feeling like this. He had gotten away with it. Things were so busy at their house, he could probably get away with this forever. When he came in from playing, he would run straight to the bathroom and turn on the water so his mom would think he had remembered to wash up. On bath nights he would put water in the tub and spend his time throwing toys into the water making big splashes. After his "bath" he would run up to his room so his parents wouldn't see. By the time they came up to check, he was under the covers and the light was off, his lie was safely hidden from their view. But then things started to get bad. The dirt piled on until his hands were so crusty that he couldn’t bend his fingers to turn on the water even if he wanted to wash. His finger nails got longer and started to curve over. They were supported by the dirt underneath them so they would never break. They were turning into claws.
Because he could no longer get his huge, crusty, claws around the spigot, he couldn’t turn on the water to wash the gunk off the rest of him and in no time became covered in mud and muck. The dirt took over everywhere. His face was tight and heavy, he couldn’t open his mouth all of the way, even his throat was dry and dusty. When he tried to speak nothing came out but a deep, dirty growl.
His feet were three times their real size because of all the red clay caked on. When he walked he had to stomp or his toes dragged the ground. His feet became so heavy that the ground shook when he came near. None of the kids would play with him, the big people all ran and hid. He found himself alone with no hope. He couldn’t go to his parents after lying for so long. Besides, they wouldn't even recognize him now. He couldn’t hide himself in the house, so he ran away to the woods. He was so scared and alone. He wanted to go home but how could he. His parents would never forgive him.
One day he saw his mother on the edge of the woods crying and yelling his name. He missed her so much but when he ran to her she was scared by the monster in front of her. She ran screaming for the town and safety. Even his mother did not recognize him. All was lost. Forsaken, the boy ran through the woods as hard as his enormous mud feet would take him. He was crying so hard that he didn’t notice the river until he was right up on the bank. He tried to stop but he toppled forward and then sank down and down. His long fingernails clawed for the surface but the weight of the mud dragged him deeper. He thought, “I’m not going to fight this anymore, I have done this to myself.” He let the water carry him to its depth. But as he sank deeper, the water was washing away the mud and the dirt that weighed him down. Just as he the watery world around him was going dark, his body, free from the weight that had dragged him down, suddenly changed direction and he shot upward at lightening speed. When he surfaced he was moving so fast that his body was propelled completely out of the water. He landed on the bank gasping, breathing deeply, washed clean by the river.
His first thought was of his parents. How he wanted to run to his mom and tell her that he was home and that he was sorry for all he had done. But he knew he couldn’t go to them. His mother had seen that he was a monster, she did not know him anymore, she had run screaming from him. They would never take him back, never forgive him.
It was then that he heard a scream, not of fright, but of elation. He looked up to see his mother standing over him, tears of joy in her eyes. She grabbed him up and wrapped him in the warmth of her arms and her love and carried him home. His father greeted him with an over pouring of love. His parents filled him so full with their love and relief to have him home again that he felt he would explode. His parents loved him, no matter what he had done, no matter that he had become a monster and told them lies. They loved him no matter what.
But just to be on the safe side though, the boy vowed to never tell another lie, never hide anything from his parents and to always, always wash his hands.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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Oh, thanks for sharing ...I love this!
I will read it with my toddler who also is not fond of the bath! 
Posted 10-14-2008 at 06:53 AM by sunspotbaby
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Thank you! That was a great, classic story that y'all wrote!Posted 10-15-2008 at 11:24 PM by organicmama
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Great little story. Well written. Wish my kids were with me now to read it to them.Posted 11-01-2008 at 01:31 PM by mikecatadjuster
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