humpty

What Happened to Humpty Dumpty?

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and
All the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again."

My children were always intrigued with Mother Goose
and nursery rhymes. They would sit on my lap and
we would read them over and over again.
Maybe it was the sing song rhyming sound of
my voice, or my own special effects that I would
add as I read that kept my children mesmerized.
Whatever the reason, they were captivated
and the nursery rhymes always brought on
many questions, take Humpty Dumpty for instance:

"Mommy, is Humpty Dumpty an egg?
What is he doing up there
on that wall?", my small daughter asked.

Oh, the questions we as parents are called
upon to answer! Where in the nursery rhyme
does it say Humpty Dumpty is an egg?
However, the picture in the book depicts him
as an egg and why, indeed, is he up on that wall?
I knew I always had to be careful just how
I answered these questions. I could envision
my child trying to paste broken eggs together.
I knew this was one of those special
teaching opportunities. I remember the
conversation went something like this:

"Honey, do you think Humpty Dumpty should
have been up on that wall?" I asked.

My daughter who always had a flair for
the dramatic and was most assuredly speaking
from experience said, "His Mommy told him not to
get up there and he let go of his Mommy's hand
and climbed up there while she was busy
talking to the "payer lady".
(her name for the store cashier)

"What should he have done?", I asked.

She shook her head from side to side,
putting her finger to her lips for effect as she
solemnly whispered, "He shouldn't have
let go of his Mommy's hand!"

"Why do you think his Mommy wouldn't
want him up there?", I continued.

"Cause he would fall down....go boom!"
she said, as her hands flew up
with her own special effects.

"Then what would happen?" I asked.

"He would cry and his Mommy would
have to get a Band-Aid", she replied.

"What if his mommy ran out of
Band-Aids", I laughed.

"Then he would have to ask God" she replied knowingly.

Out of the mouths of babes and what a picture of mankind!
The nursery rhyme caused me to stop and ponder.
I think we are all a lot like Humpty Dumpty.
Why do you suppose that no one ever thought
to call upon the King? Yet, don't we do
the same thing? We call upon all the King's horses
and all the Kings' men but
the power of horses and the knowledge of men
still leave us broken. Like Humpty Dumpty,
they can't put us together again,
but there is One who can.

The moral of the story?
Never let go of your Mommy's hand,
but if you do, call on the King!

"So Humpty Dumpty did the right thing,
Humpty Dumpty called on the King
For the King would know just what to do
The King fixed him up and made him brand new!"