When my twin daughters were young, I taught them to say this
prayer before going to bed. As I listened outside their door, I could hear them
say, "Give us this steak and daily bread, and forgive us our
mattresses." My husband and I always had a good laugh over this. That was over
50 years ago, and the memory still remains in my heart. From San Francisco:
When I was a child, I learned this prayer as "Our Father, who are in Heaven,
Howard be thy name." I always thought that was God's real name.
(Grand Junction, Colo.:)
When I was younger, I believed the line was "Lead a snot into temptation." I
thought I was praying for my little sister to get into trouble.
(Groton, MS)
My mother spent her early childhood saying, "Hail Mary, full of grapes."
(Missoula, Mont.:)
My son, who is in nursery school, said, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, how
didja know my name?" (Uniontown, Ohio:)
I remember thinking this prayer was "Give us this day our jelly bread."
(Covina, Calif.:)
I recall reading something years ago about the Pledge of Allegiance. Some child
thought it began, "I led the pigeons to the flag."
(Cleveland, Ohio:)
When I was little, I often wondered who Richard Stands was. You know: "I pledge
allegiance to the flag . . .and to the republic for Richard Stands." (Schenectady, N. Y.:)
I once knew a child whose favorite Sunday school song was "Gladly, the
Cross-Eyed Bear." (Tampa, Fla.:)
When my husband was 6 years old, he thought a certain prayer was "He suffered
under a bunch of violets." The real words were "under Pontius
Pilate," but at that age, he didn't know better. To this day, we still snicker
in church whenever that prayer is read. I believe God loves a good
sense of humor. (Lake Forest Park, Wash.)
When I was a little girl, we sang a song in Sunday school about Noah. Part of
the chorus was "And the rains came down, and the floods came up." We lived next
door to a couple of charming little girls who always sang this song while
playing in their garden. Their words were, "And the rains came down, and the
spuds came up." (Oak Harbor, Wash.)
When my older brother was very young, he always walked up to the church altar
with my mother when she took communion. On one occasion, he tugged at her arm
and asked, "What does the priest say when he gives you the bread?" Mom whispered
something in his ear. Imagine his shock years later when he learned that the
priest doesn't say, "Be quiet
until you get to your seat."
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