A Fable: The Baby in Your Bosom

At night, when the sun has gone down, some people like to go to sleep in their warm cozy beds. One such person, a young mother, was ready for said repose. She put on her warm pajama pants, threw her blanket over her shoulders, and snuggled into her soft clean sheets.

When she had closed her eyes, she could finally sleep, and her heart swelled with joy.

Then she heard a cry at her feet. Looking down, she saw a baby. Before she could move, the baby spoke: “I am suffering! It is too cold for me out here, and I am bored. There is no milk, and I am starving. Put me in your bed and feed me.”

“Oh, no,” said the mother. “I know your kind. You are a baby. If I bring you into bed, you will puke on me, and I will have to change the sheets before I can go to sleep.”

“Not so,” said the baby. “I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not puke in your bed.”

The mother withstood for a while, but this was a very persuasive baby with beautiful coloring. At last the mother brought him close to her breast and carried him to bed. There she laid him gently on the sheets.

Suddenly, the baby shuddered, coughed, and puked, showering her bed in sour milk.

“But you promised—” cried the mother.

“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” said the baby as he hurled again.

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