The Scary Man With the Ladder

In our family, we are big believers in books on tape for car rides of any duration. This past Fall, the book du jour (EVERY "jour") was Tikki-Tikki-Tembo written by Arlene Mosel and narrated by Marcia Gay Harden.

Trips to the grocery store and library were punctuated by scenes of Chang falling into the well, and longer trips were an endless cylce of Tikki Tikki Tembo running to his honorable mother for help. It was a rare night that I didn't fall asleep to the refrain of "Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo" running through my head. Alas, we have since moved on to other audiobooks. The impact of this story on my children, however,  will not soon be forgotten. As evidence, I offer the following comment from my three year old, uttered months after Tikki Tikki Tembo was ousted as our road trip favorite:

"Mommy, when I fall to the bottom of the well (notice  that in her mind this is a definite occurance and not simply an eventuality), I want you and daddy to get me out. The Old Man with the ladder is scary!"

I can only hope that this was an off-the-cuff remark, brought about by a string of random recollections and not a scenario that keeps her up at night. Either way, I have promised that my husband and I be the first to her rescue, and I am a little more aware of any wells in our vacinity.