“Forget it then!’ the mother yelled. ‘You can just go hungry.” “That's fine with me. Just get rid of this crap!"’ Both the baby and the father had got up and moved over by the door of the tent. The mother stood over by the table guarding her delicious meal. “You want me to throw away this delicious nutritional food? Think of those poor starving kids in China! They'd give anything for a delicious meal like this."’ “Well | have an idea," they piped in. ‘Why don't you put it in an envelope and send it to them?” ‘How dare you say that to me! | am your loving mother and wife. The person who takes care of you when you are sick, irons your clothes, and brings you the newspaper even before | get to read it. You seem to forget all that." ‘How can | forget it? You remind me every night!’’ the father said. He stood over in the corner like an outlaw stands when he's ready to make his quickest draw. “You don't seem to care that | work my hands to the bone every day, just to bring home money to buy this food! You have an easy life compared to mine.” “Mamma, daddy, come find me,’’ the you'll go a watch out baby cried. ‘I'm lost.” She was hiding outside the tent by the corner of the garage. “Oh my baby, my darling. Where are you?” the mother shouted. She was pulling even more of her hair out. “Father, you must go get her! Our darling little baby is lost. You wouldn't want her to get eaten up by that big bad wolf.” “What if it eats me? Don't you even care?’ He was lying down on the floor and didn't feel exactly like getting up. “It won't eat you. It only likes little babies. If you're a real Outside and get her." “Alright, | will, but Or me.” man keep The husband slid out of the tent and went to look for the baby. | guess you could call it sliding, but as he tried to Slide under the blankets his overalls would bunch up in a big ball around his Stomach. Finally he had to grab onto the grass and pull himself tent. out of the He tried to creep cautiously around the yard but size 13 cowboy boots don't creep too cautiously! Every so often he'd yell, ‘Big, bad wolf, if you get me I'll huff and puff until | blow your head off." As he neared the garage the baby came out. “Oh daddy, you saved me,’’ She cried. “| was lost. And then of course she added: ‘Goo, goo, ga, ga.”’ “Come to me honey,’’ her father said. The way he said it sounded like a third grader who had completed for the hundredth time ‘| won't swear at my teacher"' to the principal. The child came running to his daddy's arms. “Oh my back! What makes you think | can carry you?" “Well I'm the baby. You're supposed to carry babies.’ _ “I'm not supposed to carry big fat babies like you! Why don't you just run and I'll follow along by you.” “OK,"" the baby answered. ‘‘But don't ever ask me to give you a piggy back ride or play horse with you any more!" They both started running back to the tent. They started but one slight obstacle got in the way -- the overalls. The father forgot to hold them up. First, one strap slid down his arms and then the other one came down off its perch on his shoulder. The waist was now at his hips, and about three fourths of the legs were dragging on the ground. One cloddy step with the boots and he went head first on the dandilion-invaded, grass. The overalls were now in a round heap at his ankles and all you could see was a pair of pink lacy panties. The father lifted his head up like an ostrich pokes his head out of the sand. His apple red face looked as if he was having trouble deciding whether to cry or laugh. He took a quick glance around to see if anyone had seen his graceful feat and then squirmed back into his accident-prone overalls. “Oh my knee!'’ he said as he was hopping around grabbing onto his left knee. “| thought it was your back," the baby