On
Shabbat afternoons, I used to go to a 'youth group' sort of gathering. Basically
it meant I'd spend an hour or two with other kids
my age, playing games and stuff. When I was 8 or 9,
I was lucky enough to have my sister as the leader
of my group,
wheeeee. She may have overdone
herself in the 'not-showing-
favoritism' department,
choosing me last (I had to wait 3 months) to be the
'girl of the week'. The funniest thing she ever did was
teach us how to play
King Moo. I am still not
sure if my sister made this game up on the spot out
of desperation, it is extremely likely, though.
Everyone sits in a circle on the ground, and one
person volunteers or is picked to leave the
room. Once they are out of earshot, a King
Moo is chosen, and they are called back in.
At the count of three, what everyone must do is
say 'Mooooo'. King Moo's task is to say it
the loudest, and the person who was sent
out has three guesses to figure out who the King
is. (This game bears a disturbing similarity to
Indian Chief, incidentally.)
So we are sitting in a circle, a dozen odd kids, and
I have grown used to not being picked for games. Round
after round, and I finally say something to my sister.
Hannah? Can you pick me next? Another round
and when there are four girls left who have not had turns,
Hannah picks me to leave the room. I am in heaven
.
When I come back into the room there is a lot of
hushed giggling, but I cannot be sure it is more
then there has been before. Are they playing a
trick on me? I immediately dismiss the thought
as ridiculous. Two guesses has me as a very astute
guesser, and when King Moo leaves the room, I near
heaven once again as Hannah picks me to be
the next King Moo. The guesser is called back in and
Hannah counts.
'Alright, everybody. One. Two. Three',
Mooooooooo
Some silence punctuated by giggles, and the guesser
guesses wrong. My 8 year old face is a study in
masked secrecy, and Hannah counts again.
'Alright, everybody. One. Two. Three',
Mooooooooo
Again, the suspicious silence and a wrong guess.
'King Moo. We're going to need to hear you a
bit louder, alright? One. Two. Three',
Mooooooooo
This time, the silence reaches my ears before I
finish exhaling my Moo, and it begins to sink in.
I've been duped! I've been screaming my
lungs out and they've been just mouthing the word!
'It had to be you, Jane. I couldn't do it to anyone else but you're my sister.'
Hannah gave me an extra chocolate bar that
day. I didn't speak to her for a week.