Tommy’s Noisy Feet

by Thelma J. Harrison

Tommy had noisy feet. When he came into the house from outside, his feet went clomp, clomp, clomp. Then baby sister woke up, opened her big blue eyes, and started to cry.

“Oh, Tommy,” sighed Mother, “now see what you’ve done. You woke up sister again. Why can’t you walk quietly?”

When Daddy was watching his favorite television program, he grumbled, “Tommy, can’t you walk quietly? I can’t hear a thing!”

When Tommy walked up the steps to the chapel door, his feet went clompety-clompety, clomp, clomp!

Then Mother would say, “Sh-h-h, Tommy. Sh-h-h!”

When he walked down the chapel aisle, Daddy would whisper, “Quietly, Tommy. Quietly.”

Tommy didn’t want to walk clompety-clompety, clomp, clomp.

He didn’t want to wake up his baby sister.

He didn’t want to make it hard for his father to hear his favorite television program.

He didn’t want to make a noise in Heavenly Father’s house.

Tommy didn’t want to disturb people with his clompy feet.

He really wanted to walk quietly. So one day after everyone had been saying, “Sh-h-h, Tommy! Sh-h-h!” Tommy said to himself, “I’m going to try very hard to walk quietly. I’m going to try to keep my feet from going clompety-clompety, clomp, clomp.”

And Tommy did try. He tried hard. He began to listen very carefully to his feet.

When Tommy came in from outside, his feet went clomp on the floor. Then Tommy said to himself, “I must walk quietly. I must not wake up baby sister.” And right then his feet did exactly what he told them to do.

When Tommy went into the chapel, his feet started up the steps with a big clomp. But then Tommy said to himself, “I must walk quietly when I enter Heavenly Father’s house.” And his feet did exactly what he told them to do.

Tommy kept trying to walk quietly. Instead of going clompety-clompety, clomp, clomp, his feet went clomp, clomp. Then they just went clomp. And one day they didn’t go clomp at all.

Tommy’s feet came in from outside so quietly that when Mother saw him standing by her in the kitchen, she said in surprise, “Tommy, I didn’t hear you come in. You must have pussycat feet!”

Daddy was watching his favorite television program that night when Tommy came in and sat down in his own small chair. Suddenly Daddy looked up and said, “Tommy, I didn’t hear you come in. You must have cushions on your shoes!”

One day Tommy’s Sunday School teacher said, “My, some of you children have noisy feet today. Your feet went clompety-clompety, clomp, clomp up the stairs and clomp, clomp, clomp down the hall and clomp into our classroom. We should all walk quietly in our Heavenly Father’s house.

“Tommy, you have very quiet feet. Would you please show the other boys and girls how to walk quietly?”

Tommy smiled a big happy smile, and as softly as a pussycat he showed the boys and girls how to walk quietly.

And after that Tommy never had any more trouble with noisy feet.

Illustrated by Dick Brown