Three Boys with Jugs of Molasses And
by Carl Sandburg · from Rootabaga Stories
Adapted Version
Once upon a time. Three boys lived in a village. They had a big dream. Eeta Peeca Pie had wishes. He had many freckles. Meeny Miney had worries. He looked sad. Miney Mo had wishes and worries. He looked mixed up. All three boys had one big dream. They wanted to ride trains.
One day, their mothers spoke. "Go get molasses," they said. Each boy got a jug. They went to the store. They walked out as one. Each boy held his jug.
They walked under a big tree. Eeta Peeca Pie looked up. He let go of his jug. The jug fell down. It broke. Molasses spilled on the ground. It made a big sticky mess.
Eeta Peeca Pie stepped in it. "This is fun!" he said. Meeny Miney stepped in. Miney Mo stepped in too. They all got small. They were tiny like root bugs. What a big surprise!
They walked on the grass. They saw Mrs. Spider. She washed clothes. She wore a frying pan. It was on her head. "Why do you wear that?" they asked. "It is my hat," she said. "All ladies wear it."
They found a spider store. A spider clerk worked there. He had a twisted nose. He gave them pink sun shades. "You will lose them," he said. "They will come back to me. They always come back." He was very kind.
Next, they came to Root Bug Country. They met a rich root bug. He was a rich bug. He had much special money. It was called fleems. He gave fleems to the boys. He liked their wishes and worries. They got many fleems.
Now the boys had money. Their big dream came true! They rode many trains. They ate on the trains. They saw many places. They had so much fun. They stayed a very long time. They rode trains each day.
All their fleems were gone. They had no more money. They still wanted trains. They sang a special song. It was the Joe song. It made them feel happy. It kept their dream alive.
They sat under a plant. A man sprayed the plants. Green drops fell on them. It was a magic spray. The boys got bigger. They grew and grew. They were big boys again. What a strange way to grow!
The boys went back home. They told their mothers all. "You broke the jug!" mothers said. The boys smiled. "It was lucky," they said. Their big dream came true. They felt very happy. They had a great trip.
Original Story
Three Boys With Jugs of Molasses and
Secret Ambitions
In the Village of Liver-and-Onions, if one boy goes to the grocery for a jug of molasses it is just like always. And if two boys go to the grocery for a jug of molasses together it is just like always. But if three boys go to the grocery for a jug of molasses each and all together then it is not like always at all, at all.
Eeta Peeca Pie grew up with wishes and wishes working inside him. And for every wish inside him he had a freckle outside on his face. Whenever he smiled the smile ran way back into the far side of his face and got lost in the wishing freckles.
Meeny Miney grew up with suspicions and suspicions working inside him. And after a while some of the suspicions got fastened on his eyes and some of the suspicions got fastened on his mouth. So when he looked at other people straight in the face they used to say, “Meeny Miney looks so sad-like I wonder if he’ll get by.”
Miney Mo was different. He wasn’t sad-like and suspicious like Meeny Miney. Nor was he full of wishes inside and freckles outside like Eeta Peeca Pie. He was all mixed up inside with wishes and suspicions. So he had a few freckles and a few suspicions on his face. When he looked other people straight in the face they used to say, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
So here we have ’em, three boys growing up with wishes, suspicions and mixed-up wishes and suspicions. They all looked different from each other. Each one, however, had a secret ambition. And all three had the same secret ambition.
An ambition is a little creeper that creeps and creeps in your heart night and day, singing a little song, “Come and find me, come and find me.”
The secret ambition in the heart of Eeta Peeca Pie, Meeney Miney, and Miney Mo was an ambition to go railroading, to ride on railroad cars night and day, year after year. The whistles and the wheels of railroad trains were music to them.
Whenever the secret ambition crept in their hearts and made them too sad, so sad it was hard to live and stand for it, they would all three put their hands on each other’s shoulder and sing the song of Joe. The chorus was like this:
One fine summer morning all three mothers of all three boys gave each one a jug and said, “Go to the grocery and get a jug of molasses.” All three got to the grocery at the same time. And all three went out of the door of the grocery together, each with a jug of molasses together and each with his secret ambition creeping around in his heart, all three together.
Two blocks from the grocery they stopped under a slippery elm tree. Eeta Peeca Pie was stretching his neck looking straight up into the slippery elm tree. He said it was always good for his freckles and it helped his wishes to stand under a slippery elm and look up.
While he was looking up his left hand let go the jug handle of the jug of molasses. And the jug went ka-flump, ka-flumpety-flump down on the stone sidewalk, cracked to pieces and let the molasses go running out over the sidewalk.
If you have never seen it, let me tell you molasses running out of a broken jug, over a stone sidewalk under a slippery elm tree, looks peculiar and mysterious.
They stepped into the molasses with their bare feet
Eeta Peeca Pie stepped into the molasses with his bare feet. “It’s a lotta fun,” he said. “It tickles all over.” So Meeney Miney and Miney Mo both stepped into the molasses with their bare feet.
Then what happened just happened. One got littler. Another got littler. All three got littler.
“You look to me only big as a potato bug,” said Eeta Peeca Pie to Meeney Miney and Miney Mo. “It’s the same like you look to us,” said Meeney Miney and Miney Mo to Eeta Peeca Pie. And then because their secret ambition began to hurt them they all stood with hands on each other’s shoulders and sang the Mexico Joe song.
Off the sidewalk they strolled, across a field of grass. They passed many houses of spiders and ants. In front of one house they saw Mrs. Spider over a tub washing clothes for Mr. Spider.
“Why do you wear that frying pan on your head?” they asked her.
“In this country all ladies wear the frying pan on their head when they want a hat.”
“But what if you want a hat when you are frying with the frying pan?” asked Eeta Peeca Pie.
“That never happens to any respectable lady in this country.”
“Don’t you never have no new style hats?” asked Meeney Miney.
“No, but we always have new style frying pans every spring and fall.”
Hidden in the roots of a pink grass clump, they came to a city of twisted-nose spiders. On the main street was a store with a show window full of pink parasols. They walked in and said to the clerk, “We want to buy parasols.”
“We don’t sell parasols here,” said the spider clerk.
“Well, lend us a parasol apiece,” said all three.
“Gladly, most gladly,” said the clerk.
“How do you do it?” asked Eeta.
“I don’t have to,” answered the spider clerk.
“How did it begin?”
“It never was otherwise.”
“Don’t you never get tired?”
“Every parasol is a joy.”
“What do you do when the parasols are gone?”
“They always come back. These are the famous twisted-nose parasols made from the famous pink grass. You will lose them all, all three. Then they will all walk back to me here in this store on main street. I can not sell you something I know you will surely lose. Neither can I ask you to pay, for something you will forget, somewhere sometime, and when you forget it, it will walk back here to me again. Look—look!”
As he said “Look,” the door opened and five pink parasols came waltzing in and waltzed up into the show window.
“They always come back. Everybody forgets. Take your parasols and go. You will forget them and they will come back to me.”
“He looks like he had wishes inside him,” said Eeta Peeca Pie.
“He looks like he had suspicions,” said Meeney Miney.
“He looks like he was all mixed up wishes and suspicions,” said Miney Mo.
And once more because they all felt lonesome and their secret ambitions were creeping and eating, they put their hands on their shoulders and sang the Mexico Joe song.
Then came happiness. They entered the Potato Bug Country. And they had luck first of all the first hour they were in the Potato Bug Country. They met a Potato Bug millionaire.
“How are you a millionaire?” they asked him.
“Because I got a million,” he answered.
“A million what?”
“A million fleems.”
“Who wants fleems?”
“You want fleems if you’re going to live here.”
“Why so?”
“Because fleems is our money. In the Potato Bug Country, if you got no fleems you can’t buy nothing nor anything. But if you got a million fleems you’re a Potato Bug millionaire.”
Then he surprised them.
“I like you because you got wishes and freckles,” he said to Eeta Peeca Pie, filling the pockets of Eeta with fleems.
“And I like you because you got suspicions and you’re sad-like,” he said to Meeney Miney filling Meeney Miney’s pockets full of fleems.
“And I like you because you got some wishes and some suspicions and you look mixed up,” he said to Miney Mo, sticking handfuls and handfuls of fleems into the pockets of Miney Mo.
Wishes do come true. And suspicions do come true. Here they had been wishing all their lives, and had suspicions of what was going to happen, and now it all came true.
With their pockets filled with fleems they rode on all the railroad trains of the Potato Bug Country. They went to the railroad stations and bought tickets for the fast trains and the slow trains and even the trains that back up and run backward instead of where they start to go.
On the dining cars of the railroads of the Potato Bug Country they ate wonder ham from the famous Potato Bug Pigs, eggs from the Potato Bug Hens, et cetera.
It seemed to them they stayed a long while in the Potato Bug Country, years and years. Yes, the time came when all their fleems were gone. Then whenever they wanted a railroad ride or something to eat or a place to sleep, they put their hands on each other’s shoulders and sang the Mexico Joe song. In the Potato Bug Country they all said the Mexico Joe song was wonderful.
One morning while they were waiting to take an express train on the Early Ohio & Southwestern they sat near the roots of a big potato plant under the big green leaves. And far above them they saw a dim black cloud and they heard a shaking and a rustling and a spattering. They did not know it was a man of the Village of Liver-and-Onions. They did not know it was Mr. Sniggers putting paris green on the potato plants.
A big drop of paris green spattered down and fell onto the heads and shoulders of all three, Eeta Peeca Pie, Meeny Miney and Miney Mo.
Then what happened just happened. They got bigger and bigger—one, two, three. And when they jumped up and ran out of the potato rows, Mr. Sniggers thought they were boys playing tricks.
When they got home to their mothers and told all about the jug of molasses breaking on the stone sidewalk under the slippery elm tree, their mothers said it was careless. The boys said it was lucky because it helped them get their secret ambitions.
And a secret ambition is a little creeper that creeps and creeps in your heart night and day, singing a little song, “Come and find me, come and find me.”
Story DNA
Plot Summary
Three boys, Eeta Peeca Pie (wishes), Meeny Miney (suspicions), and Miney Mo (mixed), share a secret ambition to go railroading. One day, after buying molasses, Eeta accidentally breaks his jug, and when all three step into the spilled molasses, they magically shrink. In their miniature state, they embark on an adventure, encountering a spider lady with a frying pan hat, a spider clerk with self-returning parasols, and a Potato Bug millionaire who gives them 'fleems' (money) based on their personalities. Using their fleems, they fulfill their ambition by riding all the trains in the Potato Bug Country. After their fleems run out, they are accidentally splattered with paris green, which restores them to their original size, and they return home, having lived out their secret dream.
Themes
Emotional Arc
curiosity to fulfillment to return
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Carl Sandburg was an American poet and writer known for his whimsical children's stories, often drawing on American folk traditions and a unique, playful use of language.
Plot Beats (11)
- Eeta Peeca Pie (wishes/freckles), Meeny Miney (suspicions/sad-like), and Miney Mo (mixed) all share a secret ambition to go railroading.
- Their mothers send them to the grocery for molasses, and they all leave together, each with a jug.
- Eeta Peeca Pie accidentally drops his jug, spilling molasses on the sidewalk under a slippery elm tree.
- All three boys step into the molasses with their bare feet and magically shrink to the size of potato bugs.
- They encounter a spider lady who wears a frying pan as a hat and explains her culture's fashion.
- They visit a store run by a twisted-nose spider who lends them pink parasols, explaining they will forget them, but the parasols always return.
- They enter the Potato Bug Country and meet a Potato Bug millionaire who gives them 'fleems' (money) based on their individual personalities.
- With their fleems, they fulfill their secret ambition by riding all the railroad trains in the Potato Bug Country, eating on dining cars, and experiencing life there for what feels like years.
- Eventually, their fleems run out, and they continue to sing the 'Mexico Joe' song for comfort and to express their ambition.
- While resting under a potato plant, they are accidentally splattered with paris green by Mr. Sniggers from their village, causing them to grow back to their normal size.
- They return home, explaining their adventure to their mothers, who call them careless for breaking the jug but the boys consider it lucky for fulfilling their ambition.
Characters
Eeta Peeca Pie ★ protagonist
A young boy of average height and slender build, covered in numerous freckles. His overall appearance suggests a cheerful and open nature.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing typical of an early 20th-century American village boy: likely a plain cotton shirt, sturdy knickerbockers or trousers, and possibly suspenders. Colors would be muted and practical for play. He is barefoot when he steps into the molasses.
Wants: Driven by an intense desire to fulfill his secret ambition of railroading, to ride trains constantly.
Flaw: Perhaps a bit naive or easily distracted, as evidenced by letting go of the molasses jug while looking up.
Starts as a boy full of wishes and freckles, experiences a magical journey where his ambition is fulfilled, and returns home having learned that even careless acts can lead to unexpected adventures and the realization of dreams.
Wishful, optimistic, curious, imaginative, easily amused.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young boy, around 8-10 years old, with a slender build and average height. His face is round and completely covered in numerous light brown freckles, with bright, curious blue eyes and a wide, open smile that makes his freckles seem to crinkle around his eyes. His hair is short, light brown, and slightly tousled. He wears a simple, light blue cotton shirt with rolled-up sleeves and sturdy brown knickerbockers, held up by dark suspenders. His bare feet are slightly sticky with a dark, viscous substance. He stands with a slightly upward gaze, one hand casually in a pocket. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Meeny Miney ★ protagonist
A young boy of average height and slender build, with a perpetually sad or suspicious expression. His features are marked by his inner anxieties.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing typical of an early 20th-century American village boy: likely a plain cotton shirt, sturdy knickerbockers or trousers, and possibly suspenders. Colors would be muted and practical for play. He is barefoot when he steps into the molasses.
Wants: Driven by an intense desire to fulfill his secret ambition of railroading, to ride trains constantly, perhaps as an escape from his suspicions.
Flaw: His suspicious nature can make him seem sad or withdrawn, potentially hindering his enjoyment of life.
Starts as a boy full of suspicions, experiences a magical journey where his ambition is fulfilled, and returns home having learned that even his suspicions can lead to unexpected adventures and the realization of dreams.
Suspicious, sad-like, cautious, observant, prone to worry.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young boy, around 8-10 years old, with a slender build and average height. His face is slightly long with a perpetually sad or suspicious expression, his dark brown eyes are slightly narrowed and downturned, and his lips are often in a subtle frown. His hair is short, dark brown, and neatly combed. He wears a simple, grey cotton shirt with a small collar and dark blue knickerbockers. His bare feet are slightly sticky with a dark, viscous substance. He stands with a slightly hunched posture, looking forward with a thoughtful, somewhat wary expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Miney Mo ★ protagonist
A young boy of average height and slender build, with a mixed appearance that reflects both wishes and suspicions. He has a few freckles and a few suspicious traits.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing typical of an early 20th-century American village boy: likely a plain cotton shirt, sturdy knickerbockers or trousers, and possibly suspenders. Colors would be muted and practical for play. He is barefoot when he steps into the molasses.
Wants: Driven by an intense desire to fulfill his secret ambition of railroading, to ride trains constantly, seeking clarity or resolution through adventure.
Flaw: His mixed nature might lead to indecision or internal conflict, making him harder to read.
Starts as a boy with a mixed personality, experiences a magical journey where his ambition is fulfilled, and returns home having learned that his unique blend of traits is valuable and can lead to unexpected adventures and the realization of dreams.
Mixed, ambiguous, a blend of wishful and suspicious, adaptable, somewhat enigmatic.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young boy, around 8-10 years old, with a slender build and average height. His face is oval-shaped, with a few scattered light brown freckles across his nose and cheeks. His eyes are a neutral hazel, and his mouth holds a subtle, ambiguous expression that is neither fully smiling nor frowning. His hair is medium brown, slightly wavy, and falls just above his ears. He wears a simple, green and white striped cotton t-shirt and sturdy brown shorts. His bare feet are slightly sticky with a dark, viscous substance. He stands facing forward, with a thoughtful, slightly unreadable expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Mrs. Spider ○ minor
A large, anthropomorphic spider, likely with a rounded abdomen and multiple legs. Her most distinguishing feature is the frying pan she wears as a hat.
Attire: She is described as washing clothes, implying she wears some form of attire, likely a simple, practical dress or apron suitable for housework, in muted, natural colors. Her most prominent 'wardrobe' item is the frying pan on her head.
Wants: To maintain her household and adhere to the customs of her country regarding headwear.
Flaw: Her adherence to tradition makes her inflexible to new ideas or styles.
A static character, she serves to introduce the boys to the peculiar customs of the insect world.
Practical, traditional, somewhat rigid in her views on fashion and societal norms (for spiders).
Image Prompt & Upload
A large, anthropomorphic spider with a rounded, dark brown abdomen and eight segmented legs. Her spider 'face' has large, expressive black eyes. She wears a shiny, silver metal frying pan on her head like a hat, its handle pointing backward. She is dressed in a simple, faded blue cotton apron over a plain grey smock. Her front two legs are positioned as if she is about to scrub something. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Spider Clerk ○ minor
An anthropomorphic spider with a distinctive 'twisted nose' feature. He is likely of a size appropriate for interacting with the shrunken boys.
Attire: As a clerk, he might wear a simple, perhaps slightly formal, tunic or vest in natural, earthy tones, suitable for a shopkeeper in a spider city.
Wants: To facilitate the unique system of the twisted-nose parasols, which are lent, not sold, and always return.
Flaw: None apparent; he seems to embody a perfect understanding of his world's unique logic.
A static character, he serves to introduce the boys to a different, magical economy and philosophy.
Wise, patient, generous, philosophical, accepting of the natural order.
Image Prompt & Upload
A large, anthropomorphic spider with a dark, segmented body and eight legs. His spider 'face' has a distinctively twisted, prominent nose-like appendage and calm, knowing black eyes. He wears a simple, dark green tunic with a subtle woven pattern. He stands upright on his hind legs, with his front two legs gesturing gently towards a display of vibrant pink parasols in a shop window. His expression is serene and wise. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Potato Bug Millionaire ◆ supporting
A large, anthropomorphic potato bug, likely with the characteristic striped shell of a Colorado potato beetle. He would be rotund, indicating his wealth and status.
Attire: As a millionaire, he might wear a waistcoat or a top hat, perhaps made of natural materials, over his striped shell, indicating his status in the Potato Bug Country. Colors would be earthy but perhaps with a touch of richness.
Wants: To share his wealth ('fleems') with those he finds interesting or appealing, based on their inner qualities.
Flaw: His criteria for generosity are unusual and based on subjective observations of personality traits.
A static character, he acts as a benevolent benefactor, enabling the boys' adventure.
Generous, eccentric, straightforward, appreciative of unique human qualities (wishes, suspicions, mixed feelings).
Image Prompt & Upload
A large, anthropomorphic potato bug, rotund and with a distinctive yellow and black striped shell. His insectoid 'face' has large, friendly black eyes and a wide, welcoming smile. He wears a small, slightly dented brown top hat and a green velvet waistcoat over his shell. His multiple legs are positioned as if standing proudly, and his front two legs gesture towards his bulging pockets, which are visibly overflowing with tiny, shimmering golden 'fleems'. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Mr. Sniggers ○ minor
A man from the Village of Liver-and-Onions, likely a farmer or gardener. His appearance is not detailed, but he is associated with agricultural work.
Attire: Practical work clothes for farming or gardening: likely overalls, a work shirt, and sturdy boots. Colors would be utilitarian and possibly stained from work.
Wants: To protect his potato plants from pests.
Flaw: His focus on his task makes him unaware of the fantastical elements of the world.
A static character, he serves as the unwitting catalyst for the boys' return to their normal size.
Diligent, focused on his work, oblivious to the magical events occurring around him.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged man with a sturdy build, wearing faded blue denim overalls over a plain white work shirt, and heavy brown work boots. His face is weathered, with a focused, slightly squinting expression. His short, dark hair is practical and slightly disheveled. He holds a hand-pump sprayer, its nozzle pointed downwards, and a faint green mist emanates from it. He is positioned as if tending to plants in a field. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Stone Sidewalk under a Slippery Elm Tree
A stone sidewalk beneath a large slippery elm tree, where a jug of molasses shatters and spills. The molasses spreads across the rough stone, creating a peculiar and mysterious sight.
Mood: playful, accidental, transformative
The boys break the molasses jug, step into the spilled molasses, and shrink to the size of potato bugs.
Image Prompt & Upload
A close-up view of a cracked earthenware jug on a rough, grey stone sidewalk, with thick, dark brown molasses oozing out and spreading across the textured surface. Above, the dappled sunlight filters through the leaves of a large slippery elm tree, casting soft shadows. Bare child feet are just beginning to step into the sticky puddle. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Field of Grass (Spider and Ant Country)
A vast field of green grass, from the perspective of tiny beings. It contains many houses of spiders and ants, with blades of grass towering like trees. A pink grass clump hides a city of twisted-nose spiders.
Mood: miniature, whimsical, adventurous
The boys explore the miniature world, encountering Mrs. Spider and the twisted-nose spider clerk who lends them magical parasols.
Image Prompt & Upload
A low-angle perspective looking up through a dense, vibrant green field of grass, where individual blades rise like towering stalks. In the foreground, a small, intricate spider web glistens with dew. Further in, a tiny, fantastical spider-sized storefront with a window displaying miniature pink parasols is nestled at the base of a thick, pink-hued grass clump. Soft daylight illuminates the scene. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Potato Bug Country Railroads
A miniature railroad system within the Potato Bug Country, featuring tiny trains, stations, and dining cars. The landscape is dominated by giant potato plants.
Mood: exciting, fulfilling, fantastical
The boys fulfill their secret ambition of railroading, riding trains and eating 'wonder ham' after receiving 'fleems' from a Potato Bug millionaire.
Image Prompt & Upload
A whimsical, low-perspective view of a miniature railroad track winding through a landscape dominated by enormous, lush green potato plant leaves that create a dense canopy overhead. Tiny, brightly colored train cars are visible on the tracks, with a small, bustling station in the distance. The ground is rich, dark soil, and the light filters down in dappled patterns. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Roots of a Big Potato Plant
Nestled near the massive, gnarled roots of a giant potato plant, under its expansive green leaves. The area is dimly lit by the filtered light from above.
Mood: sheltered, impending change
While waiting for a train, a drop of paris green falls on the boys, causing them to return to their normal size.
Image Prompt & Upload
A close-up, ground-level view nestled amongst the thick, gnarled roots of an enormous potato plant. Above, colossal, dark green potato leaves form a dense, overlapping canopy, filtering the morning light into a soft, dim glow. The soil around the roots is rich and dark, with small pebbles and organic debris. A single, large, dark drop of liquid is suspended just above the scene. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
