What do Black Friday shoppers and the Thanksgiving turkey have in common?

They know what it’s like to be stuffed and then jammed into a small place.

The village blacksmith hired an enthusiastic new apprentice willing to work long, hard hours.

He instructed the boy, “When I take the shoe out of the fire, I’ll lay it on the anvil. When I nod my head, you hit it with the hammer.”

The apprentice did exactly as he was told, and now he’s the new village blacksmith.

We had just finished tucking our five kids into bed when three-year-old Billy began to wail. Turns out, he had accidentally swallowed a penny and was sure he was going to die.

Desperate to calm him, my husband palmed a penny that he had in his pocket and pretended to pull it from Billy’s ear.

Billy was delighted. In a flash, he snatched it from my husband’s hand, swallowed it, and demanded, “Do it again!”

As she slid behind the wheel for her first driving lesson, my daughter couldn’t contain her excitement.

"You need to make adjustments so the car is comfortable for you, the driver," I began. "Now, what’s the first thing you should do?"

"Change the radio station," she said.