The Dead Pet Fox Story
or How the Four Year-Old Beat Us at Twenty Questions
Him: “OK. I’m thinking of something.”
Us: “Is it an animal?”
Him: “Yes.”
Us: “Is it alive in the world today?” (A key question when your opponent is usually thinking of dinosaurs)
Him: “No.”
Us: “Does it have scales?”
Him: “No.”
Us: “Does it have fur?”
Him: “Yes.”
Us: “Is it a common pet?”
Him: “Yes.”
This went on for…well for twenty questions. I can’t remember all the qualities of the mystery animal, but they were numerous and mostly contradictory. Finally, we got up to twenty without guessing.
Us: “OK. We give up. What is it?”
Him: “It’s a fox!”
Us: “A fox is not a common pet.”
Him: “It’s a pet fox!”
Us: “You said it wasn’t alive today.”
Him: “It’s a dead pet fox!”
And that is how the baby of the family finally defeated his older sibling and oldest sibling know-it-all parents, while coming up with a new–macabre but unique–family mascot, all at the same time.
