BEDA (Day 18) - Pitasha

This is a story that my parents used to tell me when I was little.  I think it was one that my dad's parents originally told, but I'm not positive.  I'm pretty sure it's an old Russian story that parents told their kids to get them to bathe.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Pitasha and he HATED to take a bath.  Pitasha's mother tried everything she could think of to get her son to bathe but he just kept refusing.

"Pitasha!" His mother cried.  "You are so dirty!  It's time to take a bath!"

"No!" Sang Pitasha.  "I won't take a bath."  And he ran off to play outside.

Pitasha's mother followed him.  "If you don't take a bath, the garbage man is going to mistake you for garbage and take you to the dump!" She warned.  But Pitasha did not believe her.

One day, Pitasha was out playing on the curb next to the trash.  It was garbage night.  Pitasha's mother called him in for the night, but Pitasha was not done playing.  After his mother went to bed, he sneaked back out to play some more.  The moon rose high in the sky, and Pitasha grew sleepy.  He decided to lay down just for a minute to rest his eyes.  Pitasha fell fast asleep on the grass beside the curb.

Pitasha was so soundly asleep that he did not hear the garbage truck coming.  The garbage man looked along the curb and saw lots of dirty garbage.  He picked it all up and put it in the back of his big garbage truck.  All of it - including Pitasha!

It was dark and smelly when Pitasha woke up.  "Hey!" Cried Pitasha.  "Where am I?"  He realized he was in the back of a garbage truck.  "Help! Help!" Pitasha screamed.  "I'm not garbage! I'm a little boy!  Please don't take me to the dump!"

Inside the cab of the truck, the driver suddenly thought he heard banging and screaming.  He stopped the truck and was astonished to find Pitasha in the back of his truck.

"You are so dirty, I thought you were garbage!" Exclaimed the garbage man.  At once he turned the truck around and took Pitasha home.

Pitasha's mother was shocked and relieved when the garbage man delivered Pitasha home.  And even thought it was the middle of the night, she drew a nice, hot bath for Pitasha.  He got in without a peep, and never skipped his baths again.