Horsin' around
Don Coldsmith, Syndicated Columnist
Monday, August 11, 2008
“This little piggie went to market —” We don’t hear that children’s rhyme much anymore. It’s a part of our culture that’s being neglected. I suppose that there are a lot of households where it’s still in use. Parents or grandparents or even daycare people play with little ones, read to them and carry on the traditional riddles and rhymes that are part of our culture. Part of our education, actually. The folk stories, songs and rhymes were valuable teaching tools to help prepare a child for life as a part of the adult world.
It took me a long time to realize that all these nonsensical little ditties actually make sense, when considered in their original context. “This little piggie —” The big toe, the fattest, is ready for market. The second toe, long and slim “stayed home.” It needs to be fatter before it will bring a good price. The next toe: “This little piggie ate roast beef,” indicates an animal that eats everything eagerly, while the fourth, which “ate none” is much smaller, not even ready to fatten yet. The fifth toe is a baby, still crying “wee-wee-wee” all the way home” in the high-pitched squeal of a tiny piglet. There, in a few humorous lines, was a practical lesson for a child who in a few years would be raising pigs.
A similar exercise done with the hands was recalled to me by a small granddaughter recently. It starts with hands folded, fingers interlaced and inside closed fists. “This is the church and this is the steeple —” (index fingers raised, tips together, to form a steeple). “Open the doors and see all the people.” Both hands are opened and inverted to show rows of fingers representing people in church pews. This implied to a child that going to church is good and is expected.
There’s a second benefit here, too. The repetitive motion teaches dexterity. Inexperienced little fingers learn to respond skillfully. Similarly, “patty-cake” games not only tell something about baking, but help eye and hand coordination.
My German grandmother had a number of these little games. One, of which I’m not certain about the origin, was a rhyme similar to “This little piggie,” but done on the fingers. I believe that it had two purposes. One was to encourage the use of the hands and improve coordination. The other seems a bit more subtle, but let’s consider:
Five little froggies, all in a row — “ (fingers, of course).
This little froggie broke his toe — (the little finger, extended and bent).
This little froggie (middle finger) laughed and was glad,
This little froggie (index finger) cried and was sad —
But this little froggie, (thumb) kind and good, hopped after the doctor as fast as he could.”
The thumb was then flexed rapidly with a jerking, hopping motion. It could be done in reverse, with the little finger doing the hopping, but it’s harder and requires more coordination.
It was years later before I realized the real message in that little exercise. It’s a course in emergency management. There are four possible reactions to an emergency, depicted in that little game: panic (oh! oh! oh!), lack of sympathy (laughed and was glad), ineffective sympathy (cried and was sad). But the sensible reaction is the one that depicts help for an injured companion. Any child identifies with the sensible frog who goes for help.
These little childhood exercises went a long way to establish priorities and basic life adjustments. They turned out pretty capable people, with coordination, ethics and an understanding of human interactions. This form of education was very important. We can only hope that it continues in some families. And, I hope that they’ll get some of the same from anthropomorphic amphibians and fuzzy pink heroes on the idiot box.
See you down the road.
Author and columnist Don Coldsmith lives in Emporia.