I am a big fan of a series of children's books by Laura Numeroff which include such titles as IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE, IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE and IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN. At Christmastime I read IF YOU TAKE A MOUSE TO THE MOVIES to my preschool class and spend the day engaged in activities based on the story. It is one of my favorite Christmas school days. These stories tell of the chain of events that are initiated by one simple act and how they usually come back around to where it began. I believe the stories are fun for children because of the simple story and fun pictures. I suspect adults find them humorous because of how much truth they portray. Recently I found myself creating my own version of Ms. Numeroff's stories.
IF YOU TAKE A GIRL TO A THRIFT STORE
If you take a girl to a Thrift store there might be a "Everything's a Dollar" Sale.
And if everything is a dollar, the girl will consider items she wouldn't normally buy.
She will buy a cream colored vintage looking dress because it fits, it's fun and it's a dollar.
When she buys the dress for a dollar she will have to take it to the dry cleaners to be cleaned.
While the dress is at the dry cleaners she will begin to think about what shoes she will wear with the dress.
The girl will decide she doesn't have the right shoes and that she needs a new pair of boots.
So then the girl will shop all the clearance sales for a pair of boots.
When she can't find a pair of boots in the store she will go home and get on the internet.
She will look at several shoe websites and determine that boots are too expensive.
Then she will remember that she has a gift card for Target and look for boots there.
Target will have red dressy cowboy boots on sale and the same price as the gift card.
So the girl will order the red dressy cowboy boots from Target then wonder "what in the world she was thinking buying red dressy cowboy boots!"
While waiting for the boots she will decide she need to buy a red belt to match the boots.
She will buy a red belt, pick up the dress at the the dry cleaners and wait for the boots.
After the boots come she will get nervous about baring her legs in the cold and decide she needs tights.
She will go in search of cream colored tights but there wont be any so she will buy periwinkle blue tights.
At home, she will decide she is too shy to wear blue tights and red boots with a cream colored dress.
Then she will remember that she has brown shoes that will go nicely with the dress.
She will trade the blue tights for taupe tights to wear with the cream colored dress and brown shoes.
That's when she will see the red boots and want something to wear with them.
And chances are, she will want to go to the Thrift store