Mimi Whoosha & The Lockdown
Note: We are reaching out to storytellers, parents, and children all over the world to collect stories that bring a little healing and levity to the coronavirus outbreak.
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To be clear - these stories, articles, and resources are intended to help parents guide young children and ease anxiety in the household after the serious work of preparation has been done. They are not intended to make light of the illness. While this and other stories can be shared directly with children, we believe you will find the greatest comfort in crafting stories of your own with the help of your child.
This lovely story comes from a teacher in India.
Mimi Whoosha & The Lockdown
by Shalini Rawat
Once upon a time, in a Big Cave there lived a girl called Mimi Whoosha. ‘Mimi’ - because long ago, people had littler, simpler names. Like ‘Up Above’ simply meant the sky. In fact most times, things had no names at all! ‘Whoosha’ - because she chased rabbits around trees or other cave children in the Grass or sometimes just ran with the Wind, all with a Whoosh!
Mimi Whoosha loved her name, which was even better than aunt Eeeek’s who was quite jumpy and scaredy and shrieked “Eeeek!” at the slightest bit of thunder or lizards or both. But it was this whackiness of Mimi’s, this making of Connections which made grumpy kids laugh. And that also made Mimi a favourite with the cave women.
Mimi could make Long Connections too, when sometimes the Cave women were busy braiding ropes for the men, or picking Fruit from trees and the little ones started missing their Ma and started wailing. Her Connections would first quieten them, then calm them and most times when the women returned with their heavy loads, the babies would be sleeping like Angels. But the mothers would just kiss Mimi Whoosha as well as their babies in their sleep, for there were no words for ‘thank you’ and no word for ‘angels’ - yet!
One night, as the Fire cackled, it rained large Water Pebbles outside. Everyone snored, for cave life was hard and tiring. Mimi Whoosha stared at the wet, drooping Grass and beyond the Grass at the Laughing River that jabbered its way through the rocks, much like Mimi. The enormous Rockpiles in the Far, Far Away were giants who embraced their Grass in strong arms like her Da.
She looked up. Tonight, there were no Winking Fireflies in the Up Above; no Shiny Pebble too (which usually stared at her with a mouth stretched into a permanent yawn or sometimes, curled into its own tail like a rabbit).
Mimi Whoosha, when not wandering, was always wondering. And now she wondered, “How does the Shiny Pebble walk the path Up Above?” “How does the Golden Orb break the darkness into many pieces?” “How does the Up Above grow lighter and hotter?” “What were the Fluffy Thingies made of, dragging themselves across the Up above, like the ones that Ma brought in baskets for lining their straw beds?”
The Water Pebbles drummed on “Plonk, Plonk, Plonk, Plonk, Plink!” and the melody lulled her. She lay down wondering how Ninis and Didas and Ma and all the other women gathered fruit, leaves and herbs that eased away pain or itchiness and healed wounds and cooked and fed everyone. How they slung little babies on their backs while sometimes their stomachs would swell and more babies would arrive, making the Big Cave really noisy even when she wanted to sleep.
Would Mimi have to do likewise? What of the so many New Things beyond the Rockpiles she could Whoosh to, and give them Names of their own and make new Connections with them? She couldn’t Whoosh about with Uu Ooo, her baby brother, in her sling… and soon her soft snores joined those of the others.
She dreamt of splashing about water with Uu Ooo while the Golden Orb’s light danced on the water and poked its fingers into her eyes. In a place between dream and wakefulness Mimi realized that the wetness around her didn’t come from the river and definitely not from the damp straw on which she slept. In a flash she was up - it was the Laughing River, now turned Angry!
There was a big noisy scramble as everyone in the tribe woke up. All of them scampered up, with whatever they could carry, higher up their Rockpile, to the Little Cave at the top that was cramped and cold and damp despite the Fire. The Water Pebbles from Up Above still plonked steadily into the now Angry River.
This went on and on for many cycles of the Pebble and the Orb. There was very little food to share, nowhere to go, nothing to do and no one knew when it would end. Mimi Whoosha gave it its own name – she called it a Lockdown. The men snorted, the babies cried, the women pacified both.
Mimi knew it was time for a newer and a longer Connection. Mimi scraped at the walls with Da’s tools and carved a stick figure with a baby in a sling and another with a beard and then a Rockpile and gave them Names. The Up Above, she called the Sky and the Winking Fireflies became Stars and she named the Sun, the Moon and the Mountains and then she made a Connection – this time she called it a Story.
The Elders stopped whining and listened and so did the Little Ones. And as the First Lockdown stretched, Mimi knit more Connections or Stories in her mind. She even sang a bit in her first story and called it her First Song. Finally, when the Lockdown was over and they emerged, blinking from all the Light, they had somehow changed and now their minds saw Connections too.
They piled their own stories on top of Mimi Whoosha’s Story and sang more stanzas in her Song. And over the years Mimi Whoosha became a toothless granny and still the kids crowded around her and laughed as they listened to her sing. And all the while the Mountain embraced their Grassland in its strong arms and the Laughing River jabbered on.
Announcing The Coronavirus Storytelling Challenge
Schools are closing their doors. Parents are feeling anxious. Social distancing and empty shelves have us gasping for normalcy. We need skills for handling the disease, but we also need tools for managing the anxiety that treads in its footsteps.
That’s why we created The Coronoavirus Storytelling Challenge. As the nation struggles to catch up with the disease, let’s help parents and children connect and calm at home.
PS - We want stories from parents and kids too!
Stories from kids and parents empower others to share at home. That’s the goal! Pass it on.
The Storytelling Loop is a newsletter bringing you tips, science, and real-life examples of how storytelling builds the connection between parent and child. It is a joint project of Silke Rose West and Joseph Sarosy, authors of How to Tell Stories to Children. Originally published in August of 2019, a new edition is due out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021. You can find more from Joseph Sarosy at Fatherly. Are you involved in storytelling? Join Us.