Once upon a time there lived a furniture family: a little one — a stool, Mum — a dining chair, Dad — an office chair, Grandma — a soft armchair with a blanket and cushion, and Grandpa — a rocking chair. And they had a little dog — an ottoman.
The little stool was often asked to take the ottoman for a walk, because everyone else was busy.
Mum — the dining chair — prepared lunch for the family. Dad — the office chair — worked all day at the office. Grandma — the soft armchair with a blanket and cushion — knitted soft blankets for the other chairs. Grandpa — the rocking chair — read clever books, rocked thoughtfully and creaked. Sometimes he went for walks, but he was getting on in years and couldn't keep up with the stool and the ottoman.
Every time after a walk, Mum — the dining chair — told everyone to wash their legs properly, so they wouldn't dirty the floor in the house, and so they wouldn't get sick. Usually the little one listened and washed thoroughly, with soap and sometimes even with a flannel.
But one day he came home, looked at his legs and decided they were clean enough. It had been dry and clean outside, so he reckoned he hadn't got dirty. Which meant there was no need to wash at all.
He sits down at the table, and Mum — the dining chair — asks:
Did you wash your legs?
Yes, Mum!
The little stool answered.
Good boy. Let's have lunch then.
They sat down to eat. After they'd finished, Grandma — the soft armchair with a blanket and cushion — says to the stool:
Now you need to wash up, and then you can go play.
Right-o, Gran!
The little one answered, but decided he hadn't got dirty, so he ran straight off to his toys. And didn't wash up.
He's sitting there, playing with his toys and feels his legs itching. He scratched them, but they didn't stop. And the longer it went on, the more they itched! He decided to ask Grandpa — the rocking chair — because he reads a lot and knows everything. He ran up and said:
Grandpa, why are my legs itching so much?
Did you wash them?
Asked Grandpa — the rocking chair.
No. But why wash them if I didn't get them dirty?
The stool answered sadly. And Grandpa replied:
You need to wash even when you can't see the dirt! Because germs are so tiny that you can't see them without a microscope. You must wash your hands and legs after walks, before meals and after the toilet, even if they look clean. And you didn't wash, so you've got sick. We need to get you to the furniture doctor straight away!
Just then Dad — the office chair — came home from work. He picked up the little stool and took him straight to the best carpenter — that's what they call a furniture doctor.
The carpenter looked at the poorly legs, tapped them with his hammer and said:
Because of the dirt, woodworm have got in here. We need to saw off these legs and make new ones. But I've run out of suitable timber. So I'll take the stool's back and make new supports from that.
The chair family were upset that their child would now have to go without a back. But they had to save him urgently, before the woodworm damaged everything else.
The carpenter spent ages unscrewing, sawing, cutting, sanding, and screwing. And he made the stool brilliant new legs! Healthy and strong. And from then on, the little one always-always washed them before meals, after the toilet and after walks.
And now you know why all stools stand on strong legs, but have no backs at all.
