The List

"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."
-Tom T. Hall

We know a delightful child who, when he was about three years old, looked forward to Christmas and the arrival of Santa Claus. He declared to his relatives that Santa was making careful lists of the naughty and the nice people, delegating presents based on that age-old system and that he, the youngster, was privy to the information.
His mother enquired as to which list she might be on.
"You're on the Nice list," he offered with sweetness.
"And what about me?"asked his aunt hopefully. "Am I on the Nice list too?"
"No," said the child.
Both women were shocked to the core.
"You mean that Santa put me on the Naughty list?" gasped his aunt in dismay.
"No," cackled the mischievous one. "You're on the ROTTEN list!"
He ran away laughing. Goodness knows where children get such thoughts from but we could all benefit from dipping into their wellspring of imagination from time to time and drawing such curious, spirited thoughts.