Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies Story?

This is the original Warm Fuzzies - Cold Pricklies Story by Claude M. Steiner :

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived two happy people called Tim and Maggie with their two children, John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days.

You see in those happy days everyone was given a small, soft Fuzzy Bag when born. Any time a person reached into this bag they were able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy. Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever someone was given a Warm Fuzzy it made them feel warm and fuzzy all over.

In those days it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Anytime that somebody felt like it, he might walk up to you and say, "I'd like to have a Warm Fuzzy." You would then reach into your bag and pull out a Fuzzy the size of a childs hand. As soon as the Fuzzy saw the light of day it would smile and blossom into a large, shaggy, Warm Fuzzy. When you laid the Warm Fuzzy on the person's head, shoulder or lap it would snuggle up and melt right against their skin and make them feel good all over.

People were always asking each other for Warm Fuzzies, and since they were always given freely, getting enough of them was never a problem. There were always plenty to go around, and so everyone was happy and felt warm and fuzzy most of the time.

One day a bad witch who made salves and potions for sick people became angry because everyone was so happy and feeling good and no one was buying potions and salves. The witch was very clever and devised a very wicked plan. One beautiful morning while Maggie was playing with her daughter the witch crept up to Tim and whispered in his ear,

"See here, Tim, look at all the Fuzzies that Maggie is giving to Lucy. You know, if she keeps it up she is going to run out and then there won't be any left for you!"

Tim was astonished. He turned to the witch and asked, "Do you mean to tell me that there isn't a Warm Fuzzy in our bag every time we reach into it?".

And the witch answered, "No, absolutely not, and once you run out, that's it. You don't have any more." With this the witch flew away on a broom, laughing and cackling all the way.

Tim took this to heart and began to notice every time Maggie gave away a Warm Fuzzy. He got very worried because he liked Maggie's Warm Fuzzies very much and did not want to give them up. He certainly did not think it was right for Maggie to be spending all her Warm Fuzzies on the children and other people.

Tim began to complain or sulk when he saw Maggie giving Warm Fuzzies to somebody else, and because Maggie loved him very much, she stopped giving Warm Fuzzies to other people as often, and reserved most of them for him.

The children watched this and soon began to get the idea that it was wrong to give Warm Fuzzies any time you were asked or felt like it. They too became very careful. They would watch their parents closely and whenever they felt that one of their parents was giving too many Fuzzies to others, they felt jealous and complained and sometimes even had a tantrum. And even though they found a Warm Fuzzy every time they reached into their bag they began to feel guilty whenever they gave them away so they reached in less and less and became more and more stingy with them.

Before the witch, people used to gather in groups of three, four or five, never caring too much who was giving Warm Fuzzies to whom. After the coming of the witch, people began to pair off and to reserve all their Warm Fuzzies for each other, exclusively. When people forgot to be careful and gave a Warm Fuzzy to just anybody they worried because they knew that somebody would probably resent sharing their Warm Fuzzies.

People began to give less and less Warm Fuzzies, and felt less warm and less fuzzy. They began to shrivel up and, occasionally, people would even die from lack of Warm Fuzzies. People felt worse and worse and, more and more, people went to the witch to buy potions and salves even though they didn't really seem to work.

Well, the situation was getting very serious indeed. The bad witch who had been watching all of this didn't really want the people to die (since dead people couldn't buy his salves and potions), so a new plan was devised.

Everyone was given, free of charge, a bag that was very similar to the Fuzzy Bag except that this one was cold while the Fuzzy Bag was warm. Inside of the witch's bag were Cold Pricklies. These Cold Pricklies did not make people feel warm and fuzzy; in fact they made them feel cold and prickly instead. But the Cold Pricklies were better than nothing and they did prevent peoples' backs from shriveling up.

So, from then on, when somebody asked for a Warm Fuzzy, people who were worried about depleting their supply would say, "I can't give you a Warm Fuzzy, but would you like a Cold Prickly instead?"

Sometimes, two people would walk up to each other, thinking they maybe they could get a Warm Fuzzy this time, but one of them would change his mind and they would wind up giving each other Cold Pricklies instead. So, the end result was that people were not dying anymore but a lot of people were very unhappy and feeling very cold and prickly indeed.

The situation got very complicated since the coming of the witch because there were fewer and fewer Warm Fuzzies around and Warm Fuzzies which used to be free as air, became extremely valuable.

This caused people to do all sorts of things in order to get Warm Fuzzies. People who could not find a generous partner had to buy their Warm Fuzzies and had to work long hours to earn the money.

Some people became "popular" and got a lot of Warm Fuzzies without having to give any back. These people would then sell their Warm Fuzzies to people who were "unpopular" and needed them to feel that life was worth living.

Another thing which happened was that some people would take Cold Pricklies--which were everywhere and freely available-and coated them white and fluffy so that they almost looked like Warm Fuzzies. These fake Warm Fuzzies were really Plastic Fuzzies, and they caused additional problems.

For instance, two or more people would get together and freely give each other Plastic Fuzzies. They expected to feel good, but they came away feeling bad instead. People got very confused never realizing that their cold, prickly feelings were because they had been given a lot of Plastic Fuzzies.

So the situation was very, very dismal and it all started because of the coming of the witch who made people believe that some day, when least expected, they might reach into their Warm Fuzzy Bag and find no more.

Not long ago, a young woman with big hips came to this unhappy land. She seemed not to have heard about the bad witch and was not worried about running out of Warm Fuzzies. She gave them out freely, even when not asked. They called her the Hip Woman and disapproved of her because she was giving the children the idea that they should not worry about running out of Warm Fuzzies. The children liked her very much because they felt good around her and they began to follow her example giving out Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it.

This made the grownups very worried. To protect the children from depleting their supplies of Warm Fuzzies they passed a law. The law made it a criminal offense to give out Warm Fuzzies in a reckless manner or without a license. Many children, however, seemed not to care; and in spite of the law they continued to give each other Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it and always when asked. Because they were many, many children, almost as many as grown ups, it began to look as if maybe they would have their way.

As of now its hard to say what will happen. Will the grownups laws stop the recklessness of the children?

Are the grownups going to join with the Hip Woman and the children in taking a chance that there will always be as many Warm Fuzzies as needed?

Will they remember the days their children are trying to bring back when Warm Fuzzies were abundant because people gave them away freely ?

The struggle spread all over the land and is probably going on right were you live. If you want to, and I hope you do, you can join by freely giving and asking for Warm Fuzzies and being as loving and healthy as you can.

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© 1969 Copywrite by Claude Steiner

Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies: (Another Version)

Once upon a time there was a small village called Smilebgoten.
The people who lived there kept it squeaky clean and beautiful. Also,
the people were blessed, or cursed, with small, furry animals called
warm fuzzies.
A fuzzy was a little ball of fluff, usually a happy pastel color.
They would sit on a person's shoulder, and coo contentedly. This made
the person feel all happy, warm, and fuzzy inside, thinking only happy
thoughts and doing only nice, sweet things.
In Smilebgoten it was normal, when greeting someone, to share
your warm fuzzy with him or her. A person would take a fuzzy and tear
it in two. This didn't hurt the creatures; they seemed to enjoy it.
And so all of the members of the community walked around with huge
smiles on their faces, and rows of fuzzies on their shoulders, arms,
and heads.
But (and there's always a but) someone wasn't affected by this.
An old witch, who lived on the outskirts of town, was too grouchy and
mean to be affected by the sugary sweet fuzzies. She was sick of
watching people walk around in a daze, on a perpetual high because of
the cute little balls of fluff. It was impossible to carry on a
conversation, and the problem was getting worse! Every time one person
met another, they'd both get more fuzzies!
The witch decided to do something about it, but what? She
already tried poisoning them, but they didn't eat. She tried
suffocating them, but they didn't breathe. What could possibly stop
the warm fuzzies?
Frustrated, the witch turned to the last spell she knew. The
Reversal spell. She cast it over the town, affecting all of the
fuzzies.
The spell had an immediate effect. The fuzzies' fur turned hard
and spiny. Their color changed from pastel to dull. They were no
longer warm but ice cold. They transformed into cold pricklies,
spreading malevolence and greed.
The people of the village hoarded the pricklies instead of
sharing. This was because, in a strange way, hatred and mistrust were
almost as satisfying as the happiness used to be. And so Smilebgoten
became Smilebgone.
At first the witch was very glad she did what she did. But as
the days and months went by, she realized she made a terrible mistake.
The people of Smilebgone were cruel, causing harm to each other for the
cold pricklies, or just because they could.
One day, while her house was under attack by a bunch of children,
the witch decided that enough was enough. Senseless hatred was worse
than senseless happiness, and either way it was done without thinking.
She cast a spell, causing a nearby volcano to erupt. The heat
melted all the cold pricklies into puddles. For once, the people of
Smileb had to think for themselves, because they were no longer under
the influence of the warm fuzzies or the cold pricklies. They would
never again achieve the warm euphoria or the cold hatred they did
before, and became normal human beings.
The old witch lived happily ever after.

Warm Fuzzies - Cold Pricklies - Another Version:

Once upon a time, there was a tiny village nestled between two mountains. Each person in the village was very happy because he was given a bag of Warm Fuzzies at birth. You could reach into your bag and pull out a Warm Fuzzy whenever you wanted, and everybody wanted to all the time. Warm Fuzzies were given to other people on the street, at home, everywhere. Warm Fuzzies made you feel just like they sound - warm, happy and contented. Everyone in the village was happy, everyone but the bad witch. Now we all know that bad witches are growly. They like us to be unhappy, sad. The bad witch in this village was no exception. She tried and tried to make the people stop giving away Warm Fuzzies. One day she whispered in the ear of little Johnny Brown, "If you keep giving away all of your Warm Fuzzies you won't have any left for yourself." Johnny didn't listen at first, because everyone always had lots of Warm Fuzzies. The more you gave away, the more you got. Then the witch said to Johnny, "If you give COLD PRICKLIES you will be able to keep all of your Warm Fuzzies." Well, Johnny got to thinking about this, and noticed that his mother was always giving away Warm Fuzzies. So was his father, and his sister. Soon he thought they would have no more for him. So Johnny started saving his Warm Fuzzies and started giving COLD PRICKLIES. Soon the whole village was giving COLD PRICKLIES. Everyone was gloomy and sad and very grouchy. The village was no longer happy, and there wasn't a Warm Fuzzy to be found!

This had been going on for years and years, and the wicked witch was very happy. One day an old man came to visit the village. When he spoke to anyone they frowned at him and turned their backs, often walked away. The old man continued to be friendly, polite, pleasant, and one day a very young boy smiled back at the old man. It made him feel good - so good that he patted his dog, and the dog didn't bite him! This was the first Warm Fuzzy given in some time, and the little boy dug into his bag of Warm Fuzzies, as they were much nicer than the COLD PRICKLIES, and he started giving them away. The townspeople grumbled and growled for a while, but soon they felt like giving Warm Fuzzies. One by one people went home to find their Warm Fuzzies and soon everyone was again giving Warm Fuzzies. The bad witch was so upset and disgusted that she left the village and took her COLD PRICKLIES. After all, they didn't stand a chance against Warm Fuzzies.

To this day that village is happy and contented. Maybe, just maybe, if we give enough Warm Fuzzies our world can be as happy and pleasant as that village.

alclaycomb

March 13, 20230 found this helpful

that was very sweet, A warm fuzzie for you :-)

 

Tonya

August 15, 20050 found this helpful

S Sillitoe - Thank you so much. I never expected someone to respond that quickly not to mention actually typing it out for me. Thank you once again. Now I can pass it on to my "little friends". You made my day. :)

P.S. You're welcome.
I forgot to tell you that the original story is called "A warm and fuzzy tale"

This may be from the book "Where the sidewalk ends". I remember it from ages ago too.

Tonya

August 17, 20050 found this helpful

Suzziee - Thanks for the tip. I have the book Where the Sidewalk Ends and I love it too. Guess I'm just a kid at heart. The book is by Shel Silverstein and from what I have found there are a couple of different versions by this story. I believe the one I am looking for is by Richard Lessor. Thanks for the tip though. I may have to get out my Sidewalk book tonight and read some silly poems.

Tonya

The Warm Fuzzy Tale

The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale
By Claude Steiner

Once upon a time, a long time ago there lived two very happy people called Tim and Maggi with their two children, John and Lucy.

To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days. You see, in those happy days everyone was given, at birth, a small soft Fuzzy Bag. Anytime a person reached into this bag he was able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy.

Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever somebody was given a Warm Fuzzy it made him feel warm and fuzzy all over. People who didn't get Warm Fuzzies regularly were in danger of developing a sickness in their backs which caused them to shrivel up and die.

In those days it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Anytime that somebody felt like it, he might walk up to you and say, "I'd like to have a Warm Fuzzy." You would then reach into your bag and pull out a Fuzzy the size of a little girl's hand.

As soon as the Fuzzy saw the light of day it would smile and blossom into a large shaggy Warm Fuzzy. You then would lay it on the person's shoulder or head or lap and it would snuggle up and melt right against their skin and make them feel good all over.

People were always asking each other for Warm Fuzzies, and since they were always given freely, getting enough of them was never a problem.

There were always plenty to go around, and as a consequence everyone was happy and felt warm and fuzzy most of the time.

One day a bad witch became angry because everyone was so happy and no one was buying potions and salves.

The witch was very clever and devised a very wicked plan.

One beautiful morning the witch crept up to Tim while Maggi was playing with their daughter and whispered in his ear, "See here, Tim, look at all the Fuzzies that Maggi is giving to Lucy. You know, if she keeps it up, eventually she is going to run out and then there won't be any left for you."

Tim was astonished. He turned to the witch and said, "Do you mean to tell me that there isn't a Warm Fuzzy in our bag every time we reach into it?" And the witch said, "No, absolutely not, and once you run out, that's it. You don't have any more." With this, the witch flew away, laughing and cackling.

Tim took this to heart and began to notice every time Maggi gave up a Warm Fuzzy to somebody else. Eventually he got very worried and upset because he liked Maggi's Warm Fuzzies very much and did not want to give them up. He certainly did not think it was right for Maggi to be spending all her Warm Fuzzies on the children and on other people.

He began to complain every time he saw Maggi giving a Warm Fuzzy to somebody else, and because Maggi liked him very much, she stopped giving Warm Fuzzies to other people as often and reserved them for him.

The children watched this and soon began to get the idea that it was wrong to give up Warm Fuzzies any time you were asked or felt like it.

They too became very careful. They would watch their parents closely, and whenever they felt that one of their parents was giving too many Fuzzies to others, they also began to object. They began to feel worried whenever they gave away too many Warm Fuzzies.

Even though they found a Warm Fuzzy every time they reached into their bag, they reached in less and less and became more and more stingy. Soon people began to notice the lack of Warm Fuzzies, and they began to feel less warm and less fuzzy. They began to shrivel up, and, occasionally, people would die from lack of Warm Fuzzies.

More and more people went to the witch to buy potions and salves even though they didn't seem to work.

Well, the situation was getting very serious indeed. The bad witch didn't really want the people to die (since dead people couldn't buy salves and potions) so a new plan was devised.

Everyone was given a bag that was very similar to the Fuzzy Bag except that this one was cold while the Fuzzy Bag was warm. Inside of the witch's bag were Cold Pricklies. These Cold Pricklies did not make people feel warm and fuzzy, but made them feel cold and prickly instead.

But they did prevent people's bag's from shriveling up. So, from then on, every time somebody said, "I want a Warm Fuzzy," people who were worried about depleting their supply would say, "I can't give you a Warm Fuzzy, but would you like a Cold Prickly?"

Sometimes, two people would walk up to each other, thinking they could get a Warm Fuzzy, but one or the other of them would change his mind and they would wind up giving each other Cold Pricklies. So while very few people were dying, a lot of people were still unhappy and feeling very Cold and Prickly.

The situation got very complicated. Warm Fuzzies, which used to be thought of as free as air, became extremely valuable. This caused people to do all sorts of things in order to obtain them.

Before the witch had appeared, people used to gather in groups of three or four or five, never caring too much who was giving Warm Fuzzies to whom. After the coming of the witch, people began to pair off to reserve all their Warm Fuzzies for each other exclusively. People who forgot themselves and gave a Fuzzy to someone else would feel guilty because they knew that their partner would probably resent the loss. People who could not find a generous partner had to buy their Fuzzies and they worked long hours to earn the money.

Another thing which happened was that some people would take Cold Pricklies.....which were limitless and freely available..... coat them white and fluffy, and pass them on as Warm Fuzzies.

These counterfeit Warm Fuzzies were really Plastic Fuzzies, and they caused additional difficulties. For instance, two people would get together and freely exchange Plastic Fuzzies, which presumably should have made them feel good, but they came away feeling bad instead. Since they thought they had been exchanging Warm Fuzzies, people grew very confused about this, never realizing that their cold, prickly feelings were really the result of the fact that they had been given a lot of Plastic Fuzzies.

So the situation was very, very dismal, and it all started because of the coming of the witch who made people believe that some day, when least expected, they might reach into their Warm Fuzzy Bag and find no more.

Not long ago, a lovely, strong woman with big hips and a happy smile came to this unhappy land. She seemed not to have heard about the witch and was not worried about running out of Warm Fuzzies. She gave them out freely, even when not asked. People called her the Hip Woman and some disapproved of her because she was giving the children the idea that they should not worry about running out of Warm Fuzzies.

The children liked her very much because they felt good around her. They, too, began to give out Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it.

The grownups became concerned and decided to pass a law to protect the children from using up their supplies of Warm Fuzzies. The law made it a criminal offense to give out Warm Fuzzies in a reckless manner, without a license.

Many children, however, seemed not to know or care, and in spite of the law they continued to give each other Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it and always when asked.

Because there were many many children...almost as many as grownups...it began to look as if maybe the children would have their way.

As of now it is hard to say what will happen. Will the forces of law and order stop the children? Are the grownups going to join with the Hip Woman and the children in taking a chance that there will always be as many Warm Fuzzies as needed?

Will Tim and Maggi, recalling the days when they were so happy and when Warm Fuzzies were unlimited, begin to give away Warm Fuzzies freely again?

The struggle spread all over the land and is probably going on right where you live. If you want to, and I hope you do, you can join by freely giving and asking for Warm Fuzzies and by being as loving and healthy as you can.

Tonya

March 28, 20061 found this helpful

Heather - Thanks so much for typing that all out for me. That sounds very close to what I remember of the original story. Of course, let's see....It's been 25 years since I graduated from high school so how long would that be back to junior high. Maybe memory isn't all it's cracked up to be. LOL Thanks again.

when I was a child around 5 or 6 ('72-'73) My father brought me home a book. The actual title of the book was something to do with warm fuzzies and cold pricklies. It was a thick book with lots of neat artwork about warm fuzzies, cold pricklies, etc. It wasnt a book of silly poems or connected with the 'where the sidewalk ends' book By Shel Silverstien in any way. This book wasn't about the warm fuzzy tale in general and in fact I cant even recall that story at all. It was a book based on how to give warm fuzzies and not cold pricklies, etc. It was a really cute book as I remember the artwork clearly. I don't feel like the stories above remind me at all of the book my dad brought me home other than the general "warm fuzzies cold pricklies" idea. I'm going to have to look further into this!

Our counselor at the school where I work uses this story in a lesson for our second grade students.

My mom read it to me when I was a kid. The only version I can find is by Claude Steiner, but I can't find it in its picture book form; apparently it's out of print. You can find it at this link, but I don't know how accurate it is.
www.claudesteiner.com/fuzzy.htm

I have been looking for a book called Warm fuzzies and cold pricklies mary owarren. It is different from the books mentioned in the above responses. The artwork is not the same. It is not in print anymore and I can't find a used copy. Good luck on your search.

www.claudesteiner.com/fuzzy.htm

Here's the link to the Warm Fuzzy story. I was looking for it too, and found your request as well. Have fun. It's a lovely story!

It's called the original warm fuzzy tale. It was out of print in 1983, it is written by claude steiner. I just bought one off amazon.com

It is one of my favorites too.

Kim,
The book you are referring to is T.A. for Tots by Alvyn M. Freed, PhD. It has a chapter on Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies but in general the book helps children learn to deal with how they are feeling.

My mom and dad were grade school counselors and i inherited this book from them. It was one of my favorites when i was little.

I read the book in elementary school when I was a kid. I think my mom may still have it at her house but it was TA for Tots....and the book was orange and white.
That's all I remember.
Lisa

The link at amazon is for the book "TA for TOTS and other prinzes".
www.amazon.co.uk/.../026-8242172-8151612?ie=UTF8&qid=1126954565...
Lisa

In high school, a retreat I went to showed a warm fuzzy video. It was a cartoon. my quest for warm fuzzies involves finding that video. I cant believe I still can't find it on the internet!

There is a book by Claude Steiner called The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale. I, too, went looking for it. You can find the book on Amazon.com and some people have posted versions on the Web.

Yeah for all of us who grew up with the warm fuzzies story. I often try to explain a problem I am having with a partner or relationship and I always wish they had read that book!

I remember this story, but I remember it from an album. A record. I went to school in Monterey (K-3rd) and our 3rd grade teacher played guitar. I remember this, it was a big deal. Darn. I need to find that record.

Google: The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale by Claude Steiner (Author), Jo Ann Dick (Illustrator)

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

I also went to elementary school in Monterey (K-5) at Foothill School and had Mrs. Bird for a teacher. She played the guitar and made a record called Warm Fuzzies. It had other great songs on it too.

jaanalong

May 2, 20200 found this helpful

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4JC9ExAVSE