Tie a Yellow Ribbon

Years ago, before Tony and Dawn sang about Yellow Ribbons and old oak trees, my oldest sister used to tell us a story about a woman who wore a yellow ribbon around her neck. I recently tried to find the story on-line and discovered that traditionally the ribbon was green, not yellow.

Now I am so old I can't remember if the ribbon in the tale I heard as a youngster was green and I only remember it as yellow because of the song (which has nothing to do with a ribbon around a woman's neck). I could ask my sister, but she would say it was green just to spite me. I don't suppose it matters at this point anyway. Now that I think about it some more, I recall that the ribbon was red anyway.

In case you haven't heard it, the story goes like this.

Once there was a beautiful young girl named Lilly who always wore a red ribbon around her neck. She had a pale, but otherwise perfect, complexion and luxurious long, black hair that she usually wore down so it cascaded across her shoulders. Everyone admitted that the pale complexion and dark hair were complemented by the red ribbon, and created a striking background and frame for a sweet smile and clear blue eyes.

Eventually, Lilly married her high school sweetheart, Jeff. On their honey moon, Jeff reached to untie the scarlet ribbon. Lilly clutched at her neck frantically.

“No, I can never take this off. Please, Jeff, promise me you’ll never touch it again!” she pleaded.

Jeff was willing to promise his new bride anything and quickly assured her that he would never, could never, do anything to distress her. And he kissed her until she grew calm and willingly kissed him back.

In the middle of the night, Jeff woke and looked down at his sleeping beauty and gently kissed her eyelids. He ran his finger across the ribbon and then across the bow. Almost unbidden his fingers tugged at the tie. Lilly stirred, but continued to sleep.

Jeff thought to himself, “It can’t be comfortable sleeping with a tight ribbon around your neck. I’ll just loosen it a little.”

Suddenly the red ribbon fell away from the fragile neck of his love. Then Jeff screamed and screamed and screamed as Lilly’s head rolled from her shoulders, landed on the floor with a thud, and bounced across the floor of the honeymoon suite.

Happy Halloween!