Lesson 5 Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

By- John Updike

Introduction to the lesson

Before you read
Here is a story about the worldview of a little child, and the difficult moral question
she raises during the story session with her father.
The story revolves around Jack who is a father to two kids -- Joanne (Jo) and Bobby.
His wife Clare is carrying their third child. Jack had a habit of telling his daughter, Jo
a story every evening and on Saturday afternoon naps. This time when he was telling
her a story, she interrupts him and asks him questions whenever she feels that things
that are being told are not right. So jack now finds himself in a fix and doesn't know
how to resolve Jo’s questions. Parents feel that children should do or think exactly
what they are told. They should believe whatever they are told by their parents. But is
this the right attitude. This moral question is raised by the story and left for the reader
to decide what should be done.

About the Author

John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist,
poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only three writers to win
the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. Updike published more than twenty
novels, more than a dozen short-story collections, as well as poetry, art and literary
criticism and children's books during his career.
Should Wizard Hit Mommy? Lesson and explanation
In the evenings and for Saturday naps like today’s, Jack told his daughter Jo a story
out of his head. This custom, begun when she was two, was itself now nearly two
years old, and his head felt empty. Each new story was a slight variation of a basic
tale: a small creature, usually named Roger (Roger Fish, Roger Squirrel, Roger
Chipmunk), had some problem and went with it to the wise old owl. The owl told him
to go to the wizard, and the wizard performed a magic spell that solved the problem,
demanding in payment a number of pennies greater than the number that Roger
Creature had, but in the same breath directing the animal to a place where the extra
pennies could be found. Then Roger was so happy he played many games with other
creatures, and went home to his mother just in time to hear the train whistle that
brought his daddy home from Boston.
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Nap- a short sleep, especially during the day.
Custom: tradition, trend
Wizard- a man who has magical powers.
Magic Spell- a form of words used as a magical charm .
Pennies- a small sum of money.
Every evening and on Saturday afternoon naps, Jack used to tell his daughter a
bedtime story. This habit started when Jo was 2 years old and now that Jo was 4 years
old, Jack did not have any creative ideas for stories. Most of the stories that he used to
tell Jo revolved around the same plot concerning an animal named Roger. In every
story Roger used to be a different animal with some kind of a problem. Then Roger
would go to this wise owl to take help who would in turn tell him to go to the wizard.
Then Roger would take his problem to the wizard who would help him in exchange for
some pennies (money) mostly a bit more than what Roger had with him. After helping
him, the wizard would ask him to go to a certain place to fetch some more pennies and
Roger would do exactly like that. Then after paying the wizard, Roger would go back
and all the other animals would start playing with him. He would be very happy and
later, he would return home just in time to wait for his father who would be returning
from Boston by train.
Jack described their supper, and the story was over. Working his way through this
scheme was especially fatiguing on Saturday, because Jo never fell asleep in naps any
more, and knowing this made the rite seem futile. The little girl (not so little anymore;
the bumps her feet made under the covers were halfway down the bed, their big
double bed that they let her be in for naps and when she was sick) had at last arranged
herself, and from the way her fat face deep in the pillow shone in the sunlight sifting
through the drawn shades, it did not seem fantastic that some magic would occur, and
she would take her nap like an infant of two. Her brother, Bobby, was two, and
already asleep with his bottle. Jack asked, “Who shall the story be about today?”
“Roger...” Jo squeezed her eyes shut and smiled to be thinking she was thinking. Her
eyes opened, her mother’s blue. “Skunk,” she said firmly. A new animal; they must
talk about skunks at nursery school. Having a fresh hero momentarily stirred Jack to
creative enthusiasm.
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Supper- an evening meal, typically a light or informal one.
Fatiguing- cause (someone) to feel exhausted.
Rite- a social custom, practice, or conventional act.
Futile- pointless.
Shone- past participle of shine.
Skunk- A small cat sized animal.
Stirred- move or cause to move slightly.
Jack had now started getting tired of this daily routine because he had run out of
ideas for the stories. Also, Jo didn’t sleep listening to the story anymore. He had
started feeling that the practise was just a waste of time and there was no point doing
it. He also noticed that Jo had started growing big and that her legs now stretched
halfway down the bed when she snuggled in for her story. With all the light coming in
from the window over her face that was deep in the pillow, Jack knew that she won't
be sleeping soon. Bobby, her baby brother who was two years old was already
sleeping with his bottle in his mouth. When Jack asked Jo that who should the story be
about that day, she thought for a while and replied that she wanted it to be of a skunk.
Jack then thought that she must have heard about this animal in nursery school and
also got enthusiastic as he had a new hero for his story.
“All right,” he said. “Once upon a time, in the deep dark woods, there was a tiny little
creature by the name of Roger Skunk. And he smelled very bad.”

“Yes,” Jo said. “He smelled so bad that none of the other little woodland creatures
would play with him.” Jo looked at him solemnly; she hadn’t foreseen this.
“Whenever he would go out to play,” Jack continued with zest, remembering certain
humiliations of his own childhood, “all of the other tiny animals would cry, “Uh-oh,
here comes Roger Stinky Skunk,” and they would run away, and Roger Skunk would
stand there all alone, and two little round tears would fall from his eyes.” The corners
of Jo’s mouth drooped down and her lower lip bent forward as he traced with a
forefinger along the side of her nose the course of one of Roger Skunk’s tears. “Won’t
he see the owl?” she asked in a high and faintly roughened voice. Sitting on the bed
beside her, Jack felt the covers tug as her legs switched tensely. He was pleased with
this moment — he was telling her something true, something she must know — and
had no wish to hurry on.
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Woodland- land covered with trees.
Solemnly- with deep sincerity.
Foreseen- be aware of beforehand
Zest- great enthusiasm and energy.
Humiliation- make (someone) feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and
pride.
Stinky- having a strong or unpleasant smell.
Tensely- unable to relax because of nervousness, anxiety, or stimulation.

Then Jack started the story. The story started with the Roger skunk living in the forest.
Jack said that Roger smelled bad. None of the other animals in the forest liked to play
with him. All the other animals would start running away whenever he would go out
to play. At this moment Jack was recollecting about certain humiliations that he had
faced during his childhood, for being foul smelling. Then Jo asked whether Roger
would see the wise owl. Jack was sitting beside her and noticed that Jo was getting
anxious with the story and felt pleased with it. He did not want to hurry and wanted to
make the story more intense as he wanted to convey a message through it.

But downstairs a chair scraped, and he realised he must get down to help Clare paint
the living-room woodwork. “Well, he walked along very sadly and came to a very big
tree, and in the tiptop of the tree was an enormous wise old owl.” “Good.” “Mr Owl,”
Roger Skunk said, “all the other little animals run away from me because I smell so
bad.” “So you do,” the owl said. “Very, very bad.” “What can I do?” Roger Skunk
said, and he cried very hard. “The wizard, the wizard,” Jo shouted, and sat right up,
and a Little Golden Book spilled from the bed. “Now, Jo. Daddy’s telling the story.
Do you want to tell Daddy the story?” “No. You me.” “Then lie down and be sleepy.”
Her head relapsed onto the pillow and she said, “Out of your head.” “Well. The owl
thought and thought. At last he said, “Why don’t you go see the wizard?” “Daddy?”
“What?” “Are magic spells real?” This was a new phase, just this last month, a reality
phase. When he told her spiders eat bugs, she turned to her mother and asked, “Do
they really?” and when Clare told her God was in the sky and all around them, she
turned to her father and insisted, with a sly yet eager smile, “Is He really?” “They’re
real in stories,” Jack answered curtly. She had made him miss a beat in the narrative.
“The owl said, “Go through the dark woods, under the apple trees, into the swamp,
over the crick —” “What’s a crick?” A little river. “Over the crick, and there will be
the wizard’s house.” And that’s the way Roger Skunk went, and pretty soon he came
to a little white house, and he rapped on the door.”
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Scraped- drag or pull a hard or sharp implement
Enormous- very large in size
Eager- keenly expectant or interested..
Narrative- a story.
Swamp- an area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog or
marsh.
Crick- A small river.
Rapped- strike (a hard surface) with a series of rapid audible blows, especially in
order to attract attention.
Relapsed- return to a less active or a worse state.
Curtly- rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner

Suddenly Jack heard a voice downstairs - of a chair being pulled and realized that he
must go down to help his wife paint the living room but had to continue with the story
as Jo had not slept yet. So Jack continued that Roger Skunk was sad and as he walked,
he came across a tree where he saw the wise owl. The skunk then shared his problem
with the wise owl and the owl started thinking of how he could help the little skunk.
Then Jo shouted enthusiastically that the wise owl would ask him to go to the wizard
as she had known about the basic plot of the stories her dad used to tell her. Jack got
a bit irritated and scolded her and asked her if she wanted to tell the story by herself.
Jo denied and Jack asked her to lie down peacefully and continue listening to the
story. Jo told Jack to tell the story out of his head. Then Jack continued with the story
that the owl told Roger to go see the wizard for his problem. Then Jo interrupted him
and asked if the magic spells that the wizards used were real. When Jo asked this
question, Jack realized that Jo was coming into the reality phase and had started
asking questions about the things her parents used to tell her. He noticed that she no
longer believed her parents blindly and was curious about everything that was told to
her. Jo repeated her question to which Jack replied that the spells were real in stories.
He continued with his story that the skunk went through the way the wise owl had
asked him to go and reached a white house and knocked on the door.

Jack rapped on the window sill, and under the covers Jo’s tall figure clenched in an
infantile thrill. “And then a tiny little old man came out, with a long white beard and a
pointed blue hat, and said, “Eh? Whatzis? Whatcher want? You smell awful.” The
wizard’s voice was one of Jack’s own favourite effects; he did it by scrunching up his
face and somehow whining through his eyes, which felt for the interval rheumy. He
felt being an old man suited him. “I know it,” Roger Skunk said, “and all the little
animals run away from me. The enormous wise owl said you could help me.” “Eh?
Well, maybe. Come on in. Don’t get too close.” Now, inside, Jo, there were all these
magic things, all jumbled together in a big dusty heap, because the wizard did not
have any cleaning lady.” “Why?” “Why? Because he was a wizard, and a very old
man.” “Will he die?” “No. Wizards don’t die. Well, he rummaged around and found
an old stick called a magic wand and asked Roger Skunk what he wanted to smell
like. Roger thought and thought and said, “Roses.” “Yes. Good,” Jo said smugly. Jack
fixed her with a trance like gaze and chanted in the wizard’s elderly irritable voice:
“Abracadabry, hocus-poo, Roger Skunk, how do you do, Roses, boses, pull an ear,
Roger Skunk, you never fear: Bingo!”
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Sill- a shelf or slab of stone, wood, or metal at the foot of a window opening or
doorway.
Clenched- closed into a tight ball.
Infantile- childish.
Scrunching- make a loud crunching noise.
Whining- the making of a long, high-pitched cry or sound.
Rheumy- watery
Jumbled- mix up in a confused or untidy way
Heap- objects placed haphazardly on top of each other
Rummaged- search unsystematically and untidily through something.
Smugly- in a way that shows excessive satisfaction or pride in oneself.
Trance- a half-conscious state
Gaze- look steadily and intently
Chanted- say or shout repeatedly in a sing-song tone.
To make the sound effect of how the skunk knocked the door, Jack knocked on the
window sill and Jo was thrilled. Jack continued that the old man with a long white
beard and a blue pointed hat came out. Then Jack made his favourite sound effect and
continued that the wizard asked Roger what he wanted and that he had a very bad
body odour. Then to this Roger replied that he knew that he smelled bad and told him
that all the other animals ran away from him. He also told the wizard that the wise
owl had told him that he could help him. Then the old man replied that maybe he
could and asked Roger skunk to follow him inside and not to get too close. Then Jack
describes how the house of the wizard was really dirty from inside because he did not
have a cleaning lady to which Jo asked tha why was it so. He then replied that
because he was a very old man and also a wizard, he did not require any cleaning
lady. Then Jo again interrupted and asked that would the wizard die to which again
Jack replied that wizards never die. Then the wizard started looking out for something
and took out an old stick called the magic wand. He asked Roger what he wanted to
smell like and he replied that he wished to smell like roses. Jo was happy about the
fact that he wanted to smell like a rose. Then Jack said the magical words in the voice
of a wizard.
He paused as a rapt expression widened out from his daughter’s nostrils, forcing her
eyebrows up and her lower lip down in a wide noiseless grin, an

expression inwhich Jack was startled to recognise his wife feigning pleasure at
cocktail parties. “And all of a sudden,” he whispered, “the whole inside of the
wizard’s house was full of the smell of — roses! ‘Roses!’ Roger Fish cried. And the
wizard said, very cranky, “That’ll be seven pennies.” “Daddy.” “What?” “Roger
Skunk. You said Roger Fish.” “Yes. Skunk.” “You said Roger Fish. Wasn’t that
silly?” “Very silly of your stupid old daddy. Where was I? Well, you know about the
pennies.” “Say it.” “O.K. Roger Skunk said, ‘But all I have is four pennies,’ and he
began to cry.” Jo made the crying face again, but this time without a trace of sincerity.
This annoyed Jack. Downstairs some more furniture rumbled. Clare shouldn’t move
heavy things; she was six months pregnant. It would be their third. “So the wizard
said, ‘Oh, very well. Go to the end of the lane and turn around three times and look
down the magic well and there you will find three pennies. Hurry up.’ So Roger
Skunk went to the end of the lane and turned around three times and there in the
magic well were three pennies! So he took them back to the wizard and was very
happy and ran out into the woods and all the other little animals gathered around him
because he smelled so good. And they played tag, baseball, football, basketball,
lacrosse, hockey, soccer, and pick-up-sticks.” “What’s pick-up-sticks?” “It’s a game
you play with sticks.” “Like the wizard’s magic wand?” “Kind of. And they played
games and laughed all afternoon and then it began to get dark and they all ran home to
their mommies.”

DIFFICULT WORDS:
Rapt- completely fascinated or absorbed by what one is seeing or hearing.
Nostrils- either of two external openings of the nose.
Grin- smile broadly.
Cranky- bad-tempered; irritable.
Rumbled- make a continuous deep sound.
Then he relates the face that his daughter made to that of his wife. She made such a
face when she pretended to be enjoying a cocktail party. Then he continues that the
whole house of the wizard was filled with the fragrance of roses. By mistake, he
changed the animal to fish. Jo corrected him and he said that it was really silly on his
part to call him a fish in place of skunk. Just then Jack got a bit annoyed with Jo’s
expression and suddenly he heard some furniture rumbling downstairs. He realized
that Clare shouldn't be moving heavy things as she was 6 months’ pregnant and they
were going to have their third baby. Then the wizard tells Roger to go to end of the
lane and turn around 3 times and when he would look in the magic well, he would find
3 more pennies. Then Roger did exactly how he was told and got the extra pennies. He
then gave the pennies to the wizard and ran back to the woods where everybody
gathered around him because he smelt so good. Then they all played a lot of games
and enjoyed themselves. As it was getting dark, all the animals ran back to their
mommies.
Jo was starting to fuss with her hands and look out of the window, at the crack of day
that showed under the shade. She thought the story was all over. Jack didn’t like
women when they took anything for granted; he liked them apprehensive, hanging on
his words. “Now, Jo, are you listening?” “Yes.” “Because this is very interesting.
Roger Skunk’s mommy said, ‘What’s that awful smell?’ “What?” “And, Roger Skunk
said, ‘It’s me, Mommy. I smell like roses.’ And she said, ‘Who made you smell like
that?’ And he said, ‘The wizard,’ and she said, ‘Well, of all the nerve. You come with
me and we’re going right back to that very awful wizard.” Jo sat up, her hands
dabbling in the air with genuine fright. “But Daddy, then he said about the other little
animals run away!” Her hands skittered off, into the underbrush. “All right. He said,
‘But Mommy, all the other little animals run away,’ and she said, ‘I don’t care. You
smelled the way a little skunk should have and I’m going to take you right back to that
wizard,’ and she took an umbrella and went back with Roger Skunk and hit that
wizard right over the head.” “No,” Jo said, and put her hand out to touch his lips, yet
even in her agitation did not quite dare to stop the source of truth. Inspiration came to
her. “Then the wizard hit her on the head and did not change that little skunk back.”
“No,” he said. “The wizard said ‘O.K.’ and Roger Skunk did not smell of roses any
more. He smelled very bad again.” “But the other little mum — oh! — mum — ”
“Joanne. It’s Daddy’s story. Shall Daddy not tell you any more stories?” Her broad
face looked at him through sifted light, astounded.
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Fuss- to show excessive excitement
Apprehensive- fearful that something bad or unpleasant will happen.
Awful- very bad or unpleasant.
Fright- a sudden intense feeling of fear.
Skittered- move lightly and quickly
Underbrush- shrubs and small trees
Agitation- anxiety or nervous excitement.
Astounded- shock or greatly surprise.
Jo had started getting bored with the story and was more interested in looking out of
the window. She thought that the story was over. On the other hand, Jack did not like
women who would take things for granted. He liked women who remained engrossed
in his talks. Then he again continued the story asking Jo to be a little attentive to what
he said. The mommie skunk asked that from where was that awful smell coming from
to which Roger replied that it was him. He added that he smelt like roses. Mommie
skunk asked Roger that who had made him smell like that to which he replied that the
wizard had done so. The mommie skunk got angry and ordered Roger to accompany
her to the wizard. Roger told his mom that all his friends ran away from him if he
smelled bad to which his mom replied that she didn't care and that he smelled just the
way a baby skunk should smell. His mom took out her umbrella and they went to the
wizard’s house where when the wizard opened the door and the mommie skunk hit
him on his head. Then Jo started imagining her own story about how the wizard
would have hit the mommie skunk back and never changed Roger Skunk back. Her
father told her that nothing of that sort happened and the wizard changed Roger
Skunk back to normal and he did not smell of roses anymore. Another question was
about to pop up in little Jo’s mind but Jack stopped her and told her that it was his
story and if she wanted him to tell her anymore stories, then she should keep quiet. Jo
kept on looking at her father with great surprise as she waited for the story to be
continued.
“This is what happened, then. Roger .Skunk and his mommy went home and they
heard Woo-oo, woooo-oo and it was the choo-choo train bringing Daddy Skunk home
from Boston. And they had lima beans, celery, liver, mashed potatoes, and Pie-Oh-My
for dessert. And when Roger Skunk was in bed Mommy Skunk came up and hugged
him and said he smelled like her little baby skunk again and she loved him very much.
And that’s the end of the story.” “But Daddy.” “What?” “Then did the other little
animals run away?” “No, because eventually they got used to the way he was and did
not mind it at all.”
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Lima Beans- an edible flat whitish bean.
Celery- a cultivated plant of the parsley family
Eventually- in the end, finally
After some time when Roger skunk and his mum were going back home, they heard a
Woo-ooo, Woo-oo sound as his father arrived back from Boston. Then all of them had
lima beans,celery, liver and mashed potatoes for dinner and Pie-Oh-My for desert.
Later that night when Roger Skunk was sleeping, Mom skunk came back. She hugged
him and told him that he smelled again like her baby skunk and that she loved him a
lot. With this Jack ended the story to which Jo again asked that did the other animals
run away from Roger skunk again and Jack replied ‘no’ because they slowly got
accustomed to the smell so they did not feel like running away anymore.
“What’s even shiladee?” “In a little while.” “That was a stupid mommy.” “It was not,”
he said with rare emphasis, and believed, from her expression, that she realised he was
defending his own mother to her, or something as odd. “Now I want you to put your
big heavy head in the pillow and have a good long nap.” He adjusted the shade so not
even a crack of day showed, and tiptoed to the door, in the pretence that she was
already asleep. But when he turned, she was crouching on top of the covers and
staring at him. “Hey. Get under the covers and fall fast asleep. Bobby’s asleep.” She
stood up and bounced gingerly on the springs. “Daddy.” “What?” “Tomorrow, I want
you to tell me the story that that wizard took that magic wand and hit that mommy” —
her plump arms chopped forcefully — “right over the head.” “No. That’s not the
story. The point is that the little skunk loved his mommy more than he loved all the
other little animals and she knew what was right.” “No. Tomorrow you say he hit that
mommy.
Rare- not occurring very often.
Emphasis- special value given to something.
Tiptoed- walk quietly
Pretence- an attempt to make something that is false, to appear true.
Gingerly- in a careful or cautious manner.
When Jack said that eventually everybody started liking Roger skunk, Jo did not
understand the word eventually as she had heard it for the first time. So she asked
what's ‘Even shiladee’ to which Jack told her the meaning. But Jo thought that what
Mommy skunk did was not right and said that what the mother skunk did was stupid
but Jack took it personally and said ‘no’ because somewhere he was relating it to
himself and defending his own mother. Then Jack told Jo that he wanted her to take a
long day nap and adjusted the shades so that no light came in. He then went very
softly to the door and acted as if Jo had slept but when he turned and looked, she was
staring at him and sitting on top of the covers. Then he told her to go to sleep as she
was also disturbing her brother who was sleeping. Then she stood up and started
bouncing softly on the springs. While jumping on the springs of the bed she asked her
father to tell her a story the next day - that the wizard took his magic stick and hit the
mommy and chopped her plump arms. Then Jack explained to her that this was not
what the story said. He told her that the story gave us a message that the skunk loved
his mother more than any of the other animals in the woods and that his mother knew
what was right for him and what was not. Then as he was explaining Jo about the
story, she started insisting that the next day he would have to tell her a story like the
one she wanted.
Do it.” She kicked her legs up and sat down on the bed with a great heave and
complaint of springs, as she had done hundreds of times before, except that this time
she did not laugh. “Say it, Daddy.” “Well, we’ll see. Now at least have a rest. Stay on
the bed. You’re a good girl.” He closed the door and went downstairs. Clare had
spread the newspapers and opened the paint can and, wearing an old shirt of his on top
of her maternity smock, was stroking the chair rail with a dipped brush. Above him
footsteps vibrated and he called, “Joanne! Shall I come up there and spank you?” The
footsteps hesitated. “That was a long story,” Clare said. “The poor kid,” he answered,
and with utter weariness watched his wife labour. The woodwork, a cage of moldings
and rails and baseboards all around them, was half old tan and half new ivory and he
felt caught in an ugly middle position, and though he as well felt his wife’s presence
in the cage with him, he did not want to speak with her, work with her, touch her,
anything.
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Heave- produce a sigh.
Stroking- move one's hand with gentle pressure
Spank- slap with one's open hand
Weariness- extreme tiredness
Then she started throwing tantrums as she had done many times earlier but this time
she was not laughing or joking. She was being a bit stubborn. Then Jack told her to be
patient and sleep and that he would see to it the next day. He then asked her to stay on
the bed and closed the door. He then went downstairs and saw his wife painting the
walls. She had opened the paint can, spread the newspapers and was wearing an old
shirt of his over her maternity dress. She was painting the chair rail. Suddenly, he
again heard footsteps above and shouted that did Joanne want a beating. The sound
of the footsteps started vanishing. Then Jack's wife told him that it was a long story
that he was telling Jo and to that he replied “The poor kid” and as he was feeling
very tired, he just sat and watched his wife do all the work. Then he started looking at
the woodwork around him and started relating it to his life. He was looking at it and
thinking that although both of them (Jack and Clare) were caught in a cage like
situation in their marriage, there was no solution to it. Neither did he want to talk to
her nor speak or touch her.