Harold the Worm, some backstory

I do not come from a family of strong oral storytelling per se. My people are southern whites, and a joke told among adult males on the porch over dominoes is usually as close as anyone gets to a folktale.

There is one intriguing exception to this though. My aunt, a schoolteacher, has always had one story that she told after much enthusiastic prompting at every family gathering I can remember: Harold the Worm . It's not that long and for some reason this one little story is all she tells.

Harold the Worm has many features classic to oral storytelling: it's action happens in threes. There is repetitive phrasing. The structure of the action is simple and short, but allows for extended comic riffing.

For the story my aunt would adopt an exaggerated version of herself as an innocent disciplinarian, appalled by Harold's behavior; think of an earnest, bossy little girl. She would chastise him in a childishly high-pitched voice with a wagging finger. Her back would be strait and her tone authoritative.

Harold, meanwhile, had a low-slung voice with suggestion of nasal blockage. He was bashful, sloven, oafish and very, very sorry. His meek posture and submissive tone contrasted sharply with the dynamic and reprehensible goings-on that the audience hears him admit to.

The last time I heard my aunt tell Harold must have been at least 20 years ago at this point. I likely have forgotten many of her small flourishes and personal touches. But, oh well. I guess that's just more room for my imagination. I always enjoyed it when she told it, but I can't claim to really understand it-- then or now. On the surface it makes little sense, especially the punch line. If there was some added dimension that my pre-teen mind could not grasp, I haven't figured it out subsequently. The fact that something so Dadaist could be so entertaining to a child of 7 (and the rest of my extended family), I think is informative in a couple of ways.

First of all, I think there's a lesson in the strong structure of the story. It has rhythm, timing, and forward momentum. I think this serves to make the story sensible even as it's absurdist.

Secondly, children often don't 'get' a lot of art that they consume. Certainly there are facets of Bugs Bunny cartoons that are utterly obscure to the modern audience-- especially kids. Like The Rabbit of Seville? Or the one where Daffy and Bugs meet the abominable snowman and he talks like Lennie from an old adaptation of Of Mice and Men, or how about that Treasure of the Sierra Madres running gag in 8 Ball Bunny. The comic timing and strong movement still entertain even if the references are lost. It seems that as far as kids go you can be entertaining even if you're not understandable.