You Can't Please Everybody!
You Can't Please Everybody!
Flip and Flap were two Jolly gnomes who tried to please everyone. But once they tried too often, as you shall hear!
It happened one day that they wanted to go to market to fetch some potatoes in their barrow and Flap thought it would be a good idea to take with them a sack of apples to sell. So they fetched the big wheelbarrow and filled a sack full of their best apples. Then they set off.
Now Flip was very tall and thin and Flip was very short and stout, so they looked an odd pair. Flip wheeled the barrow and Flap took the sack of apples on his fat shoulder. It was a hot day and the road to the market was a long one. Many people were going to market that day, and some of them starred laughingly at the two gnomes.
'Look at that little fat one carrying the sack!' cried a big brownie, pointing his long finger at Flap. 'What foolish gnomes they are! Why don't they put the sack in the barrow and wheel it? Then it need not be carried!'
'Dear me!' said Flip, stopping and looking at Flap. 'We might have thought of that, Flap. Put the sack of apples in the barrow and I can easily wheel it.'
So Flap thankfully put the sack into the barrow and walked on his way, glad to be rid of his load. But tall, thin Flip found the barrow rather heavy to push and every now and again he gave a little groan. Some pixies passing by heard him and they stopped and pointed their fingers at fat Flap, swinging along by himself, whistling.
'Look at that strong, fat gnome selfishly walking by himself, letting his poor thin brother push that heavy barrow!' they cried. 'For shame! He ought to push the barrow himself!'
The gnomes stopped and Flap went very red. He took the handles of the barrow from Flip at once.
'Better let me push the barrow, Flip, 'he said.
'I don't want people to think I am selfish, for I am much too fond of you to be unkind. You walk and I will take the barrow.'
So tall, thin Flip walked beside the barrow whistling gaily, while short, fat Flap pushed it.
The sun was very hot indeed and soon Flap panted and puffed with the heat. He pushed the barrow along, and felt little drops of water running down his face, because he was so hot.
A large gnome and his wife came jogging up on their donkey and the wife pointed her finger at Flip in disgust.
'Look husband,' she said, 'do you see that tall gnome there walking by his poor little brother who is working himself to dearth push-ing that heavy barrow? For shame! Why doesn't he help him? Surely he could give him a hand?'
Then it was Flip's turn to go red. The tall gnome stopped and looked at Flap, who was still puffing and panting as he pushed the barrow.
'Look here!' said Flip. 'Hadn't we better push the barrow together, Flip? You can take one handle and I can take the other. Then everyone can see we are helping one another.'
So Flap took the right handle of the barrow and Flip took the left handle, and off they went again down the road.
Very soon a big party of pixies rattled by in a wagon, and when they saw the two gnomes both pushing the one wheelbarrow they screamed with laughter and pointed their small fingers at them in scorn.
'Look! Look! Those gnomes are so weak and feeble that it need both of them to push one barrow! Oh, what a funny sight! Poor things!
They ought to eat lots of eggs and butter to get up their strength. Then it wouldn't need two of them to push one small barrow!'
The gnomes put down the barrow with a bang and stared angrily after the cheeky pixies
'Well! Said Flap, snorting down his nose in rage. 'We can't seem to please anybody this morning! What are we to do now?'
'Well, it's no use one of us carrying the apples and the other wheeling the barrow, 'said Flap, 'because we were laughed at for that. '
'And it's no good you wheeling the barrow alone or me wheeling it either, ' said Flap gloom-ily, 'because people think we're selfish then.'
'And they think we're poor, weak things if we wheel it together,' said Flip. 'But wait-I Know what we'll do, Flap! You carry the barrow over your shoulder, and I'll carry the sack of apples! Then we shall neither of us be called stupid, selfish or feeble. Isn't that a good idea?'
'Fine!' said Flap, and he hoisted the barrow on to his head. The weight of it bent him over and he couldn't see where he was going, so he told Flip to walk in front of him guide him.
Flip went in front and together they made their way to the market.
The road began to get very crowded, and pigs, hens and ducks were all over the place.
Suddenly a little pig ran between Flip's long legs and over he went with the bag of apples. The rolled all over the road and the pigs gobbled them op at once! Then Flap fell over Flip and down came the barrow, crash! Its wheel broke in half and both the handles were cracked.
'My goodness me!' said Flap, sitting up and looking in dismay at the pigs gobbling the apples and at his broken barrow. 'Look at that, Flip! This is what came of trying to please everybody! Next time we will please ourselves.
And I really Think it would be better if they did, don't you?
