Children’s Folklore Recent Titles in Greenwood Folklore Handbooks Myth: a handbook

Blowing Bubbles
One day there was this class, and there were children in it listening to the teacher. The 
teacher got mad if anyone was ever late. Well, you see Johnny was late, and he walked in 
and the teacher says, “Where were you, Johnny?” He said that he was outside blowing 
bubbles. The teacher scolded him and said not to be late again. Then you see, Billy walked 
in late and the teacher asked him where he was and he said that he was blowing bubbles. 
The teacher, you see, scolded him too. Then a little time passed, and in walked this little 
girl. The teacher asked her who she was. And well, this little girl said, “Hi, I’m Bubbles.”
Ten-year-old Gillian told this joke in Huntington, New York, in March 1979. 
Like many of the jokes in the first chapter of Gershon Legman’s 
Rationale of the 
Dirty Joke,
this one introduces children who seem innocent but prove to be more 

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Examples and Texts 53
sophisticated. While jokes of this kind make listeners laugh, they also suggest that 
children know more about sex than their elders think they do.
Helen Keller
Did you see Helen Keller’s new car? Neither did she!
How come you can’t hear Helen Keller in the winter? Because she wears mittens.
Two teenagers swapped Helen Keller jokes in the library of their high school 
in Smithtown, New York, in April 1987. Fourteen-year-old Kathy told the first 
joke; 15-year-old Brent told the second one. Both Kathy and Brent identified 
themselves as “brains” (high achievers), in contrast to “jocks” and “burnouts.” 
After telling Helen Keller jokes, both Kathy and Brent told several ethnic jokes.
Jokes about disabled individuals, many of which fit the popular riddle-joke 
format, break rules about showing respect for people who have physical chal-
lenges. Why do kids joke about Helen Keller (1880–1968), the highly ad-
mired author who had been deaf and blind since early childhood? Her status 
as a heroic activist for the rights of the disabled makes her an obvious—though 
inappropriate—target for children’s humor. Some people feel anxious about the 
possibility of becoming disabled. Jokes provide an outlet for this anxiety, making 
it possible to laugh at a subject that has no intrinsic humorous value. For other 
Helen Keller jokes, see Bronner (128–29).