Stubborn by Stephen Goldin

Frederick Von Burling the Third was a gimme pig.
At the age of five, little Frederick asked his mommy, “Are you going to buy me a Super-Duper Rocket and Astronaut Set?”
“No, Freddy,” said his mommy. “It costs $28.95. Now, be a good little boy and don’t cry.”
“I’m gonna cry,” said little Frederick, stamping his foot furiously. “I’m gonna hold my breath until I turn blue.”
Little Frederick did even better than that. He turned purple.
Needless to say, kiddies, little Frederick got the Super-Duper Rocket and Astronaut Set.
At the age of ten, little Frederick asked his daddy, “Are you going to buy me a reallive-honest-to-goodness pony?”
“No, Freddy,” said his daddy. “It costs $289.50. Now, be a good little boy and don’t cry.” “I’m gonna cry,” said little Frederick, stamping his foot furiously. “I’m gonna stand on my head in the corner for a whole hour.”
Little Frederick did even better than that. He stood on his head in the corner for three hours.
Needless to say, kiddies, little Frederick got the reallive-honest-to-goodness pony.
At the age of twenty, little Frederick asked his uncle, “Are you going to buy me a shiny chrome, two-tone convertible sports car?”
“No, Freddy,” said his uncle. “It costs $2,895. Now, be a good little boy and don’t cry.”
“I’m gonna cry,” said little Frederick, stamping his foot furiously. “I’m gonna date Selma Schatzburger, the village idiot.”
Little Frederick did even better than that. He affianced Selma Schatzburger, the village idiot.
Needless to say, kiddies, little Frederick got the shiny chrome, two-tone convertible sports car.
At the age of thirty, little Frederick asked his family, “Are you going to buy me a no-holds-barred, allexpense-paid trip around the world?”
“No, Freddy,” said his family. “It costs $28,950. Now, be a good little boy and don’t cry.”
“I’m gonna cry,” said little Frederick, stamping his foot furiously. “I’m gonna stand on this spot and not budge from it all day.”
Now, kiddies, the Earth is rotating on its axis at a speed of approximately one thousand miles an hour at the equator. (The speed decreases as you approach the poles, kiddies, but we needn’t bother ourselves with that.) The Earth is also revolving about the Sun at an average speed of eighteen miles a second. (The Earth and the Moon also revolve around a common center of gravity, kiddies, but this point is inside the Earth, so it doesn’t matter too much.) The Sun is also moving toward a star named Vega at a speed of about twelve miles a second.
The Sun is also spinning around the rim of the galaxy at a speed of one hundred and seventy-five miles a second.
The galaxy is also receding from all other galaxies to the end of the universe at a speed equal to sixty miles a second for every million light-years of separation between the two galaxies; that is, kiddies, if a galaxy is one million light-years from us, we are moving away from it at a speed of sixty miles a second; if it is two million light-years away, we are moving away from it at a rate of one hundred and twenty miles a second.
All this, kiddies, is very fast.
But little Frederick didn’t budge.
Needless to say, kiddies, little Frederick got what he deserved.