Colored Eggs

The kids ran out of eggs, but they didn't want to waste all those great colors, so they dropped in some rocks to see what would happen. The eggs and the rocks turned out great, don't you think? They had a great time, as always. One of their friends came over to join the fun, and she brought one of those sparkly tie-dye egg kits.

These photos brought back memories of playing Colored Eggs. Do you remember that game? Someone was the Mother Hen, and she named all her little chickies different colors. Then her chickies stood behind her while the Big Bad Wolf knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Big Bad Wolf."

"Whaddya want?"

"Colored eggs."

"What color?"

Tricky Mother Hens wouldn't name anyone just "Pink" or "Yellow." Tricky Mother Hens used the 64-box names like "Burnt Sienna" and "Periwinkle."

So, when the Big Bad Wolf called for "Chartreuse" or whatever, that little chickie had to run to base without getting tagged. In my neighborhood, base was always the big tree in the Campbell's front yard. There were a bunch of kids on our street, and in the summer we played Colored Eggs and other forms of tag until the streetlights came on. If we were lucky, our parents would come outside to call us and get involved in conversations with other parents, and we could play a little longer while the grownups talked. In my childhood memories, it's always summer, the grass is always green and cool on my bare feet, and it's always dusk and the kids are trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of tag before bedtime.