Little smart alecs

It is a well-known fact that children bring joy to our lives. Though some children are naughty while some docile, till they reach a certain age we have to care for them with tolerance. As they grow older, we observe with amazement the common sense and wit they have, and how naturally it comes to them.

Here are a few instances which may seem common, but they are funny and show the intelligence of children.

A grandmother took her grandson for admission to a nursery school. The teacher said, "All the seats are filled up. I regret to tell you there is no seat." The grandson, who was bold enough, said "I will bring a chair from my house, sir, no problem." A schoolteacher once planned to take some of her students on a picnic. One boy wanted to join the picnickers. "All the seats are filled up, my boy," the teacher said. "I can sit on your lap, madam" pat came the reply.

Nihal had come from abroad to Bengaluru. That day, it started raining heavily. Granny said, "Nihal, recite this poem to the rain: 'Rain,rain, go away, come again another day!'" Nihal did as told but the rains did not stop. He then told his granny, "Indian rains do not understand English. I think I have to say it in the local language, Kannada, which I do not know!" Granny said, "Minal, you should become a doctor. Study well from now on." Minal said, "Yes, I will become a doctor. But you will not be there to see me as a doctor."

Kunal's uncle, who was called doddappa, used to caress him too much as he was a sweet child. One day while he was asleep, he was bitten by mosquitoes. He asked his father to bring the mosquito repellent. After a pause, he said, "Bring doddappa repellant, too!" Granny was teaching history to her grandson. Humayun was ruling the kingdom after Babur. He was born in the year so and so... After some time, when she asked the boy when Humayun was born, he replied, "We are not celebrating his birthday anyway. Why bother about it?"

When we were young, boys those days would celebrate Ganapathi Pooja by taking darshan of 108 Ganapathis. Once, the band of boys visited 10 or 15 houses. Later, someone suggested that this method was too tedious. "Let us all go to two or three shops displaying ganapathis. We can do namaskara and finish praying to all 108 in a short time." Everyone agreed, and they did just that.

Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu and a great devotee of Srihari. He believed that God was every where. This is very true. It was God who saved him from the clutches of his father. This story moved the granddaughter very much. After a while, when the young girl came out of her bath, Granny said "Go to the God's room, do namaskaram and come." She replied, "Just now you told me God is everywhere. So, I will bow to him from here itself."

Children express great originality in wit and humour, and this should be encouraged at every phase of their life.