A Squash and a Squeeze
In our final assembly of the calendar year, we were treated to a reading of the classic children’s book, A Squash and a Squeeze (a copy of which is pasted below) by some of our Senior Prefects.
Published in 1993 by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, it was the first of many children’s books from this award-winning partnership that included Room on the Broom and, perhaps most famously, The Gruffalo.
As many readers will no doubt remember, the story begins with a woman complaining that her house is much too small and enlists the help of a wise old man. His advice is puzzling, but he is a wise man after all, so the little old lady goes along with his suggestions. Her hen, then her goat, pig, and cow are all brought inside, with the inevitable result that things are even more cramped and chaotic than they were.
When the wise old man then tells her to take them all out she is even more puzzled, but once she has managed to do so, she is – of course – amazed at how spacious her house feels. At the end of the story, her house is the same size as it was at the beginning of the tale, but her perspective has changed. It is no longer too small and she is happier than ever.
In our assembly, we considered the fact that, as the holiday season approaches, it’s worth taking a moment to consider how – sadly – Christmas has become a time of pressure and stress for many people. We get sucked into the belief that we need to spend lots of money on things we don’t really need and fill our houses with food and drink that we can’t possibly get through.
Often we can’t control the things that happen to us, but we can always choose how we respond to them. As I said to our students earlier today, if they don’t get all the presents they wanted, or if there are fallings-out over Christmas, they could do worse than to take some time to think about the little old lady, and how looking at things from a different perspective made her much happier.
Wishing everyone – like the lady from the story – a Christmas full of frolics and fiddle-de-dees.
Best wishes
Michael Bond
