Teasing and Snakes

Growing up my mom had certain stories she would tell to teach certain lessons, and when it came to teasing, there was only one standard: Melody and the snake. (I was always on the receiving end of the teasing, so this story was applicable to me -- I do not recall that there was ever a similar parable given to my brothers who were on the perpetrating end, but perhaps I never heard it.)

Melody was my mom's roommate from college, and growing up she had a younger brother who would tease her incessantly, chasing her around the house with reptiles and bugs just to listen to her scream. One day, Melody's brother approached her with a new snake. Instead of running in terror, Melody simply said, "Cool, can I hold him." And, she did. She held and touched the snake and then returned it to her brother. According to my mom's version of the story, Melody's brother never tormented her again.

Having grown up with this story woven through my childhood (and never having successfully implemented the principles of not reacting and complaining about being teased myself) I find it interesting that Maggie has discovered the perfect way to tease her sister lately. She looks right at Mia and says, "Lala, I snake" with a little grin on her face and then makes a series of hissing noises. Without fail, Mia responds by screaming and running away from the "snake." This game is repeated quite frequently and always with the same result. Apparently Maggie just can't resist doing something she knows will make her sister scream. And, Mia, well Mia has yet to learn from the Melody story, and given how much she smiles while running away in "terror" I wonder if she ever will!