SCARY THINGS

A round of rhymes that make fun of common childhood fears-- of insects, escalators, strangers, thunderstorms, swimming, etc. Poor bashful Susan is reminded that ""they're nothing but PEOPLE--/ And people don't bite"" while Betsy bawling about a shot is shown sensible Peter who ""knows it's just a prick,/ Quickly over, too--/ And what that shot will scare away/ Is polio or flu."" Hardly convincing, and neither, now, is the ridicule of boys bolting the barber chair: ""Perhaps they want to GROW their hair/ In big, fact sausage curls/ So they can tie it up in bows/ And look like little girls."" Silly psychology.