A group of women from the Farmers’ Wives Club of Little Middlington were going on a trip to the theatre when the coach in which they were travelling broke down, and the play was in full swing by the time they arrived. As the group entered the theatre, one of the actors on stage was declaiming, “Who are you? Why do you come so late?” One of the women answered, “We’re from Little Middlington and our coach conked out!”

The story “Theatre Trip” demonstrates how other people’s words can often be misinterpreted as a result of a guilty conscience or critical inner voices.

(From: Stefan Hammel: Handbook of Therapeutic Storytelling. Sories and Metaphors in Psychotherapy, Child and Family Therapy, Medical Treatment, Coaching and Supervision, Routledge 2019)