*A Jewish Folktale - The Mountain and the Cliff*

*Retold by Jane*

*A father and a son were crossing a mountain to go home. They were singing happily :”Take one down, pass it around, 46 bottles of beer on the wall. 46 bottles of beer on the wall, 46 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, 45…” On the way, when they were driving to a corner, they met a lot of rocks lying all over the street. The son told the Father:” Don’t worry Dad, I will get rid of those rocks and then we will be on our way.” After the son carried most of the rocks out of the street, there was only one very huge rock left, he did try all his best but he couldn’t move it. He told his Father: “I’m sorry Dad, I just can’t move that last rock. We can’t get around it. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to go back.” The Father said:” Have you really done everything you could?” The son came to the car and picked up a bottle of Nitrogen, poured it into the rock. The liquid just broke the cover of the rock. Still he couldn’t move the rock. He came back to his Father:” Sorry Dad, it’s no use. We have to go back.” The Father said:” Have you really done everything you could?”. He picked up a bottle containing granite-eating caterpillars. Still the caterpillars couldn’t help him move the rock. He told his Father: ”I’m sorry, Dad, I just…I just can’t move that rock. We have to go back.” The Father said: ”Oy. Have you really done everything you could?” “Yes. I totally have. I threw rocks around for two hours. I used liquid nitrogen, like in Terminator 2, I even busted out the granite-eating caterpillars. I really have done everything I could.” “No, you haven’t. Because you haven’t asked me to help you.” Together, the Father and the Son moved the large rock out of the street. “Timber”.*

“Together we can move mountains.”*