One of the funniest things I've ever seen

From Yahoo! News - Oddly Enough:

A 3-year-old boy upset that his mother wouldn't let him use a crane vending machine to try to win a small stuffed animal took matters in his own hands. He climbed up the chute to get the prize himself.

This next part is great.

Manges said James has been sick and sleeping odd hours so they went shopping about 3 a.m. Thursday at a Wal-Mart in the city some 15 miles east of South Bend. She let the boy play on some of the rides, but wouldn't give him money for the vending machine.

At first, Manges thought it was funny.

"He was playing with all the toys and hanging from the bar like a monkey," she said.

Manges said people leaving the store went back inside to buy disposable cameras to take photos of her son. She bought one herself.

That is hilarious. Personally, I'm glad the woman has a sense of humor. I can imagine how it would be to think you'd failed as a mother or something because your kid climbed up into a toy machine while your back was turned for two seconds. And I'm also glad she got pictures, because that is just priceless.

About 40 people watched as the firefighters removed the back of the machine and freed him.

James still came up empty handed.

"He definitely didn't get a toy after that," Manges said.

I think this is a funny, great story. And I think it's fantastic that the mom didn't just cave to the kid and give him a toy. Good for her! The kid sounds like a smart cookie, and with a mom who knows how to say no, I think he'll grow up to be somebody special.

(I wonder who'll be the first to try and delve into the "toy pit" [as opposed to "ball pit"] market?)