It’s All A Silly Lie!

Today’s question on the MacKade books and more blog hop is, what silly lie were you told as a kid?

So, I’m sitting here, wracking my brain, and trying to remember some of the silly stuff I was told as a child.

I remember being told that one of my dad’s oldest friends worked on an oil rig, which was why he went away for long periods. 20-plus years later, while watching an episode of Porridge (this is a fantastic British sitcom from the 70s set in a prison) the main character mentions that he has “worked on an oil rig” many times and I recalled what my parents had told me.  

It was quite common for some people to use the “working on an oil rig” thing to cover up that someone had been sent to prison. However, when I asked my dad if, in fact, his friend had had a stint in prison when I was a kid, it turned out that the man actually had worked on an oil rig.

My maternal grandad died when I was about five or six, and I remember he used to love telling me hilarious variations of fairy tales. I think he told me quite a few silly things, but unfortunately, I can’t remember anything specific.

Then there’s the Santa fallacy. But that doesn’t count, even if it’s the most stupid yet most believed lie in the world. All a parent has to say to get around any awkward question is – it’s magic!

I don’t remember what my parents told me–but I doubt I was to the truth—about where my brother came from when I was three years old. There have been some fantastic lies told to kids regarding procreation that are hilarious. There’s the cabbage patch lie, where a gardener tends to the babies while they grow in the cabbage patch and then delivers it to their parents. Then there’s my favourite, the stork who delivers the baby – but where did the stork get the baby from? The prudish Victorians may have started this lie.

Finally, a silly lie I remember!

The house we lived in until I was ten had quite a wild and natural area at the bottom of the garden. One evening, my brother and I spotted what looked like tiny lights amongst the overgrown ivy and wild foxgloves. When we asked my mum what it was, she said it must be the fairies having a party. We were fascinated and watched the lights twinkling for about an hour while my mum made dinner. I remember loving the idea that fairies lived at the bottom of our garden.

The next day I wandered down to the bottom of the garden, which is obviously the perfect place for the fairies to live, and had a nosy around. Of course, there were no fairies. I mentioned this memory to my mum not so long ago, and she said when she went out in the garden the next day, there was a clear plastic bag tangled in the bushes that must have reflected the light from the house—another fantasy dashed.

What silly lie were you told as a kid? Let me know in the comments and check out the posts from the other blog hoppers.