Ulysses was working at one his favorite tasks, scrubbing the toilet in the front bathroom. I left him happily at it for a minute or two, but when I came back to see how he was doing, he had added a new element.

He looked joyfully up at me as I approached, glad to show me what he'd done: he'd put his life-sized toy biscuit into the water, and it bobbed gaily in the bowl as he plunged the toilet brush up and down. But his pride quickly dissolved into confusion and shock.  Instead of praising his cleverness, I cried ...   more »