The Sock Mystery
A Children’s Story
Have you ever wondered were your socks disappear to? And how you end up with so many mismatched pairs?
Let’s listen in to the whispering in the sock drawer. Shhhh, we don’t want to let them know we’re here listening.
“Peace there, Stripes. How are you both doing?” said a rumpled old gym sock to a pair of his neighbors.
“Salaam, Gymi,” replied one of the pretty tan, pink, powder blue and light yellow striped socks. “We’re just fine, praise God. How are you doing?”
“I’m feeling a bit stretched out and saggy these days but other than that I’m doing well, thanks,” came the reply. “But I am getting a bit concerned about our young Daisy. She seems to be getting more and more vain every year.”
“What makes you think that?” asked the second striped sock.
“She never worried too much about how we socks looked. Not like she does now. I mean of course everyone liked to look nice, but you can carry it too far. Why just yesterday Daisy began to cry when she couldn’t find the mate to that gaudy turquoise and silver sock with the lace on the top. You know those snooty socks that look down on the rest of us.”
After Gymi left Stripe2 asked, “you know what I miss the most? Remember how Daisy used to tie us together and tease Kitty with us? And sometimes she would ball us up and throw us to the other side of the kitchen — I could almost imagine being a bird — and then Kitty would run over and pounce on us like we were a mouse. Daisy would be laughing and everything was so happy and wonderful! How I miss the good old days,” she ended with a sigh.
An old nubbly brown sock spoke up, “And remember how Daisy used to play sock puppets with us. She made up so many fun little plays with us for her doll audience. That sure was fun too.”
“Oh, and remember how she would make us sock puppets and tickle Billy’s tummy when he was a baby. He’d laugh so hard that he’d get the hiccups and Daisy would almost laugh hysterically,” recalled Stripe2.
“Hmmm,” said the first Stripe. “Maybe its time for one of us to get lost too. If enough of us disappear maybe Daisy will start to think about what’s happening and ask Mommy about it. And we know Mommy reads scripture all the time so she knows how bad vanity can be for people.¹
“After all we need to do whatever we can to help our girl keep from getting vain and so caught up in the world that it might hurt her soul!”
With that the sock drawer quieted down and probably the socks went to sleep too. After all it’s hard work for them walking , running, skipping and leaping along with us.
¹ There are many scriptural quotes on vanity. Here you can read just some of them
1 Samual 16:7 — But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Quran 47:36 — This worldly life is no more than play and vanity. But if you believe and lead a righteous life, He [God] will reward you, without asking you for any money.
Chuang Tzu put on cotton clothes with patches in them, and arranging his girdle and tying on his shoes, (to keep them from falling off) went to see the prince of Wei. “How miserable you look, Sir!” cried the prince. “It is poverty, not misery”, replied Chuang Tzu. “A man who has TAO cannot be miserable. Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery. — Chuang Tzu (Taoism)
Hinduism teaches: “Without virtue, beauty is useless; our outer beauty fades but our inner thoughts, feelings, values and personality never leave us.”
