Bang on the Drum All Day

[phkrause]

There was once a small boy named Johnny who banged a drum all day and loved every moment of it. He would not be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various attempts were made to do something about the child.

One person told Johnny that he would, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums. This reasoning was too advanced for the child, who was neither a scientist nor a scholar.

A second person told Johnny that drum beating was a special activity and should be carried out only on rare occasions. The third person offered the neighbors plugs for their ears; a fourth gave Johnny a book; a fifth person gave Johnny meditation exercises to make him placid and docile. None of these attempts worked.

Eventually, old Moishe Tennenbaum walked by wondering what all of the ruckus was about. He surveyed the situation, handed the child a hammer and chisel, and asked, "I vuner what's inside the drum?"