AND has a deadly-accurate sense of comedic timing.
Allow me to recreate the scene:
Number One and I, as is our habit, have retired to my big floompy (shut up, it is too a word) memory-foam-and-down-comforter bed of endless squishy joy, for our nightly pre-bed story. He has chosen a beautiful book created by a couple of wildlife photographers which chronicles the reactions of animals in a snowy wood to the sudden overnight appearance of a snowman. (See the website for the book, "Stranger in the Woods" here, and credit to Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick for their beautiful photos, including the one above.)
The Devil, as is HER habit, demands to be included in this activity. Since it is meant to be both mommy-boy time, and a wind-down in advance of sleep, I sometimes try to discourage this (it inevitably leads to horseplay of the break-my-bed and hurt-my-kids variety), but then again.. it's READING! And she wants to be with her big brother! And.. and.. READING!
(I know, I know, she's lulling us into a false sense of security.)
So, of course, I cave. With Number One's permission. So she sits in my lap and gets herself all arranged in the fluffy blankie and looks at me expectantly, and we begin, with Number One and I taking turns reading pages out loud.
At every page, she announces what animals we see. A reindeer! [Garden-variety white-tailed deer.] A moose! [Another deer.] A... penguin! [A chickadee. She gets points for the tuxedo reference.] A squirrel! (It was!)
For about 10 minutes, we are very much a nauseatingly sweet little group, reading our book, pointing at animals, and snuggling. I allow myself a small, smug smile and a moment's pity for all those people who lack such a charming family.
And then we see a picture very much like the one below (not the actual book pic, which I couldn't find online, but a very similar angle), and she says...
... "A cat butt!"
*siiigh*
(Thanks to Amy E Fraser's blog, Exalted Beauty, for excellent cat bu - er, porcupine pic!
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