Pet


This guy was lonely, and decided life would be more fun if he had a pet. So he went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet. After some discussion, he finally bought a centipede which came in a little white box to use for his house.

He took the box back home, found a good location for the box, and decided he would start off by taking his new pet for a walk. So he asked the pet, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

But there was no answer from his new pet. This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked him again, "How about going for a walk with me?"

But again, there was no answer from his new friend and pet. So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. He decided to ask him one more time; this time putting his face up against the centipede's house and shouting, "Hey, in there! Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

A little voice came out of the box: "I heard you the first time! I'm putting on my shoes."

Pre-School Talk

Went to dinner straight from college at 8pm just now. Sat next to a table with three ladies and a kid. The kid was sulking and sitting with his side to the back of the chair facing me. Then I overheard the following:


Mother: What colour you want? You want black pau?

Son: Yes.


Not long after a friend of his mother came over. Greeted them then asked the boy:

Mother's friend: Can give me eat?


* All my life I have never known of the existance of a black coloured pau. The paus that I know of are char siew pau, kaya pau, tausar pau, tai pau.

Sometimes it is better to converse with the kids in the toungue that you are familiar with rather than teaching them the wrong command of language. What both adults are doing are literal translation from the hockien dialect. More over there is no such thing as black pau. Imagine the kid when he's big enough to order his own food "Black pau".