As a child my son’s favourite bedtime stories were ‘The Little Pete Stories’. One in particular which had to be read to him every night (for three months!) was ‘Pete and the Wonderful Tap’. It could have been that he felt a special sympathy for Pete as he too had had to endure a helpful adult’s meddling. In Kevin’s case it was his tricycle which was the source of the problem. For weeks it had squeaked quite loudly as he trundled along. We regularly passed a local garage and one day one of the mechanics offered to oil it. Before we knew what was happening he had taken the tricycle and liberally oiled the back wheels. The tricycle no longer squeaked. There was silence as it moved across the pavement. As we left the garage Kevin had a set look on his face. He was frowning. Far from being pleased. He was furious. He had liked the squeak!
from Ann Ethel Bayliss