Children Should Not Be Dopey

True to my word, I gave the children a short test. I provided the beginnings of 15 proverbs and had them write their own endings. As incentive to finish all the phrases, I told them I would post the best answers on the family blog. Perhaps that was my mistake, for alas, the results were not as creative as I had expected from such brilliant children. Although they were not permitted access to the first grader answers from the newsletter, they assumed that their job was to be purposely funny. "Funny" is one of those things like "beauty," it's in the eye of the beholder.

From the 45 responses, these are the cream of the crop:

1. Don't change horses...unless their diapers are really smelly.
2. You can lead a horse to water but...you can't lead a cat.
3. Don't bite the hand that...pokes you.
4. If you lie down with dogs...you'll get eaten.
5. An idle mind is...made of wood. (See Ps. 115:3-8)
6. Where there's smoke...there's an old-fashioned car.
7. Happy the bride who...gets conked on the head. If she's conscious tomorrow, she'll break the groom's bed.
8. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and...the world laughs at you. So don't cry.
9. Children should be seen and...not be dopey.
10.When the blind lead the blind...they get hit by a semi.
11.When the blind lead the blind...they walk slowly.
12.A bird in the hand...a poke in the eye!

So much for preparing them to play our new game. Here are some actual questions from "Wise Or Otherwise." What do you think the ends of these phrases really are?

There's an old Norwegian saying,
"He who owns the boat...

There's an old Siamese saying,
"Beware of squint-eyed persons and...

There's an old Cameroonian saying,
"What monkey forgets...

There's an old Latvian saying,
"A big man, a big...