Don’t leave baby clothes out on the line overnight or devils will wipe their mouths on them

[Scene: Jess’s backyard in suburban Sydney, late afternoon. A few baby clothes hang on the clothesline. Tara drops by for a visit.]

Tara: (grinning) Hey Jess! Look at those tiny socks — they’re adorable! You’ve gone full “mum mode,” haven’t you?

Jess: (smiling proudly) Oh yeah, it’s been nappies and lullabies all week. But I’ve got to bring these in before sunset.

Tara: (checking her watch) Why the rush? Still plenty of daylight left.

Jess: (lowering her voice, half-serious) Because you should never leave baby clothes out overnight. The devils might wipe their mouths on them.

Tara: (bursts out laughing) Wait—what? The devils? Like, actual demons doing their laundry rounds?

Jess: (defensively) Don’t laugh! It’s an old saying. My nan used to swear by it. She said if you leave baby clothes out after dark, bad spirits could bring illness or bad luck to the child.

Tara: (teasing) So… the devils are basically drooling on onesies now? That’s a new hygiene hazard.

Jess: (rolling eyes but smiling) You can joke all you want, but some things shouldn’t be tested. My cousin left her baby’s romper on the line once, and the next day, the poor bub came down with a fever. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Tara: (crossing arms) Or maybe — just maybe — it rained, the clothes stayed damp, bacteria grew, and the baby’s immune system wasn’t thrilled about it. Science doesn’t need a devil to explain that.

Jess: (frowning, thinking) Huh. You always have a “logical explanation,” don’t you?

Tara: (laughing) Someone’s got to balance out your ghost stories. Think about it — people made up these sayings long before washing machines or dryers. If clothes stayed out overnight, they’d collect dew, insects, or even bird droppings. Babies got sick, and boom — devils got the blame.

Jess: (snorts) So you’re saying my nan’s devil story was just early weather forecasting?

Tara: Exactly! “Don’t leave it out or you’ll regret it” just sounds scarier when you throw in a devil.

Jess: (grinning) You know, now that you put it that way, it does make sense. But I still feel uneasy about it. Like, what if there is something we can’t see?

Tara: That’s fair. We all get that feeling sometimes. But it’s probably safer — and cleaner — to just bring them in to avoid dew, not demons.

Jess: (laughs) Fine, fine. No devils, just humidity and hygiene. You’ve ruined another good story, Tara.

Tara: (mock-bowing) My work here is done. Science: 1. Superstition: 0.

Jess: Don’t get too smug — wait till I tell you about the one where crows mean visitors.

Tara: (grinning) Bring it on. I’ll bring my binoculars and a biology book.

[They both laugh as Jess starts unpinning the clothes, tossing a tiny onesie into the basket.]