Once
there was a little boy whose name was Sam. He had hazel
eyes mixed with green. He had black hair and a big smile
with lots of white teeth. He lived on a farm and was
always dirty.
He
wore gumboots and overalls whenever he was outside
because there was so much dirt. There was dirt in the
gardens. Dirt on the tracks. Dirt in the paddocks. Even
the animals were dirty - they didn't have baths, you
see.
When
Sam wanted to go inside his house he had to leave his
gumboots on the kitchen porch. This was so that he
didn't make dirty tracks on his mother's clean kitchen
floor. The trouble was that Sam's gumboots had a hole in
them. When it had been raining outside Sam's socks got
wet through the holes. He would leave his boots outside,
but his wet socks would make a trail of footprints
across the kitchen floor.
Sam's
mother would yell out, "Oh, Sam, couldn't you tell
me there were holes in your gumboots?"
Sam
would say, "I don't know."

Sam
was supposed to take off his overalls when he got inside
so that he didn't dirty the furniture when he sat on it.
But Sam always forgot to take them off. He would sit on
the couch and watch television until his mother saw him
there.
Sam's
mother would yell out, "Oh, Sam ! How many
times do I have to tell you to change your dirty
clothes?"
Sam
would say, "I don't know."

When
it was time to eat his dinner, Sam was supposed to wash
his face and hands. But he never did. He would sit at
the table until his mother saw him.
Sam's
mother would cry, "Oh, Sam ! Why haven't you
washed your face and hands?"
Sam
would say, "I don't know."

After
his dinner it was time for Sam's bath. He mother always
made sure he had his bath. Sam liked his bath. He spent
a long time in the bath. He liked to pretend it was a
swimming pool. He swam up and down making great waves.
The waves went over the side of the bath. There was
water all over the floor and dripping down the walls.
When Sam's mother came to get him out, she slipped on
the water and bumped her head on the wall.
Sam's
mother yelled, "Oh, Sam ! What a mess !
Why do you always have to make the water go
everywhere?"
Sam
said, "I don't know."

After
Sam had finished his bath and had dressed in his pyjamas
he was supposed to go to bed. But Sam never did. He
would sneak outside without putting on his dressing gown
and slippers. He would run up the dirty tracks to the
dirty paddocks in his bare feet. He would call to the
dirty animals to come to him. He would cuddle them and
kiss them goodnight.
When
he went back to his room, his mother would be waiting
for him. She would have her arms crossed across her
chest and one of her feet would be tapping. She was
angry. She would look at Sam. She would cry, "Sam,
take a look in your mirror !"
Sam
did. He looked in the mirror and he saw himself. He was
no longer clean. His face was dirty from kissing the
animals. His pyjamas were dirty from cuddling the
animals.
Sam's
mother gave up. "Get into bed, Sam," she said,
quietly.
Sam
did, but as he did he lifted his feet and they were
dirty from running barefoot along the tracks.
Sam's
mother yelled, "Oh, Sam ! Won't you ever
learn?"
Sam
said, "I don't know."

One
day Sam woke up very late. This was unusual because
Sam's mother usually woke him up herself. Sam got out of
bed and went to his mother's room to see what had
happened to her. Sam's mother was still in bed.
Sam
said to her, "What's wrong, Mummy?"
Sam's
mother said, "I don't know."

Sam
thought that this was very strange, but he didn't ask
any more questions. He went to the bathroom and cleaned
his teeth. He washed his face and hands. Then he got
dressed into clean clothes.
He
went to sit at the kitchen table to eat his breakfast.
He waited for his mother to make his breakfast. His
mother didn't come.
Sam
went to his mother's room. She was still in bed.
Sam
said, "I washed my face and hands. I cleaned my
teeth. I got dressed into clean clothes. Are you going
to make my breakfast?"
Sam's
mother said, "I don't know."

Sam
wasn't sure if that meant his mother would make his
breakfast or not. He decided to make his own breakfast.
He made himself a bowl of cereal. When he had finished
eating, his mother had still not appeared.
Sam
decided to visit the animals. He talked to the animals
for a long time.
Sam
said to them, "My Mummy is acting very strangely
today. She hasn't got out of bed. She didn't make my
breakfast. I asked her if she was going to make my
breakfast, but she said she didn't know."

At
lunchtime, Sam was hungry. He went back to the house. He
took off his dirty gumboots on the kitchen porch. He
took off his wet socks. He dried his feet with an old
towel that hung on the porch. He went inside. He went
into the lounge room, but he was careful not to sit on
the couch with his dirty overalls.
His
mother was sitting on the couch watching television. Sam
saw that she was still in her night dress.
"Aren't
you getting dressed today, Mummy?" said Sam.
"I
don't know," said Sam's mother.
Sam
shook his head. This was very strange.
Sam
asked, "What are we having for lunch?"
Sam's
mother said, "I don't know."
Sam
wasn't sure if that meant his mother would make his
lunch or not. He decided to make his own lunch. He made
himself a sandwich.

When
Sam saw his sandwich sitting on the plate, he thought
about his mother. He decided to make her a sandwich,
too. When he had made it, he took it to her in the
lounge room. Sam's mother was crying.
"Why
are you crying, Mummy?" asked Sam.
"I
don't know," said his mother.
"I
made you a sandwich," said Sam.
"Thank
you," said his mother, and took it.
Sam
went to his room and took off his dirty overalls. He put
on a clean track suit to wear while he was inside. Then
he went to the bathroom and washed his face and hands,
(though he was a little late in remembering).
After
that, he got his sandwich and took it into the lounge
room to eat it next to his mother. He saw that she
hadn't eaten her sandwich yet.
"Why
haven't you eaten your sandwich, Mummy?" asked Sam.
"I
don't know," said his mother.
Sam
put his sandwich on the table and he sat next to his
mother. He looked at her for a long time while she
watched the television. Then he made up his mind. He put
his arms around her and he gave her a long cuddle. Sam's
mother cuddled him, too.

While
they were cuddling each other, Sam and his mother began
to cry quietly.
When
they saw that they were crying, they said at the same
time, "Why are you crying?"
Then
they answered each other at the same time, "I don't
know."
Then
they suddenly started to laugh. The laugh felt good. It
made Sam and his mother feel happy. It made Sam's mother
feel better.
She
said, "I think I had better go and get
dressed."
Sam
smiled.
After
that, Sam's mother didn't yell at him so much. This was
partly because Sam tried harder to do the right things,
but most of all it was because Sam didn't say "I
don't know" any more, (if he could help it).
He
didn't like not knowing why his mother had acted so
strangely that day. He had wanted to know the answer to
his questions. He had wanted to help her if he could,
and he hadn't been able to help her because she wouldn't
tell him what was wrong.
Sam
decided that he would always try to answer his mother
when she asked him questions. Even if those questions
seemed silly. He would try to tell her the truth. At
least then she wouldn't always be wondering what he
really meant when he said "I don't know."
He
hoped that one day, if he did that long enough, she
would tell him what she really meant, too.
In
the meantime, Sam and his mother gave each other a big
cuddle every day.

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