Mandy's Cloth
Children's Story
Mandy was only four when she started school. She hadn't been to nursery school at all because she lived way out in the country and there were no nursery schools within easy reach. But she was always occupied, for there was plenty to do and to see on the farm where she lived.
Mandy's birthday was in August, so when she started school in September she was the youngest person in the class. She was only just four, and most of the other children were nearly a year older than she was.
Mandy insisted on taking her cloth to school with her. It was just an old piece of sheet really. When Mandy was a tiny baby she had cuddled her cot sheet to her, and when she grew out of the cot and went into a proper bed she had screamed and yelled and shouted until her mother had given her the cot sheet to cuddle.
It had gone on from there. Mandy took her cloth everywhere with her, and refused to be parted from it.
On the first school day, Mandy's mother tried very hard to persuade Mandy to take a doll or a toy to school. But Mandy wasn't interested. It had to be her cloth. She marched into the classroom clutching it to her.
At playtime, the teacher invited Mandy to leave her cloth in the classroom. But Mandy shook her head.
Out in the playground, she began to play with a small group of girls. But it wasn't long before some of the bigger boys spotted her and her cloth. In a moment she was surrounded, and all the girls quietly melted away. The boys began to taunt her, "Mandy, Mandy, you're a baby. Where are your nappies?"
Mandy was bewildered. She had no experience of other children, and didn't know what they meant. "I'm not a baby," she said. "I don't wear nappies, I wear knickers."
At this, the boys screeched with laughter. They began to dance round her shouting and yelling, "Baby Mandy! Mandy is a baby!" Then of one of them grabbed her cloth and wrenched it from her, and they all ran off laughing, tossing and kicking the cloth between them like a football.
Mandy felt as though part of herself had been torn away. For a moment she was too deeply hurt and shocked to react. Then she felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth to wail. But another child ran over to her. "Mandy, come and play mummies and daddies. You can be mummy if you like."
Intrigued by the thought of this new game, Mandy allowed herself to be towed along by her new friend. She soon discovered how to play, and she felt very grown up being mother.
Mandy's new teacher rescued the cloth from the boys, and at the end of the first day, gave it to Mandy's mother. Her mother was very relieved, for she thought there would be all sorts of trouble, especially at bedtime, if Mandy didn't have her cloth. But Mandy wasn't interested. "I don't need that any more," she told her startled mother, "I'm a big girl now. I'm big enough to play Mummy in our game. And grown-up mummies don't need cloths, so you can throw it away if you like."
And Mandy never used her cloth again.
Mandy's birthday was in August, so when she started school in September she was the youngest person in the class. She was only just four, and most of the other children were nearly a year older than she was.
Mandy insisted on taking her cloth to school with her. It was just an old piece of sheet really. When Mandy was a tiny baby she had cuddled her cot sheet to her, and when she grew out of the cot and went into a proper bed she had screamed and yelled and shouted until her mother had given her the cot sheet to cuddle.
It had gone on from there. Mandy took her cloth everywhere with her, and refused to be parted from it.
On the first school day, Mandy's mother tried very hard to persuade Mandy to take a doll or a toy to school. But Mandy wasn't interested. It had to be her cloth. She marched into the classroom clutching it to her.
At playtime, the teacher invited Mandy to leave her cloth in the classroom. But Mandy shook her head.
Out in the playground, she began to play with a small group of girls. But it wasn't long before some of the bigger boys spotted her and her cloth. In a moment she was surrounded, and all the girls quietly melted away. The boys began to taunt her, "Mandy, Mandy, you're a baby. Where are your nappies?"
Mandy was bewildered. She had no experience of other children, and didn't know what they meant. "I'm not a baby," she said. "I don't wear nappies, I wear knickers."
At this, the boys screeched with laughter. They began to dance round her shouting and yelling, "Baby Mandy! Mandy is a baby!" Then of one of them grabbed her cloth and wrenched it from her, and they all ran off laughing, tossing and kicking the cloth between them like a football.
Mandy felt as though part of herself had been torn away. For a moment she was too deeply hurt and shocked to react. Then she felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth to wail. But another child ran over to her. "Mandy, come and play mummies and daddies. You can be mummy if you like."
Intrigued by the thought of this new game, Mandy allowed herself to be towed along by her new friend. She soon discovered how to play, and she felt very grown up being mother.
Mandy's new teacher rescued the cloth from the boys, and at the end of the first day, gave it to Mandy's mother. Her mother was very relieved, for she thought there would be all sorts of trouble, especially at bedtime, if Mandy didn't have her cloth. But Mandy wasn't interested. "I don't need that any more," she told her startled mother, "I'm a big girl now. I'm big enough to play Mummy in our game. And grown-up mummies don't need cloths, so you can throw it away if you like."
And Mandy never used her cloth again.
