(I posted a similar conversation with Mira on Facebook, but this needs to be recorded for posterity. Or when I need to embarrass her as a teen.)
Me: So Mira, what do the elephants eat?
Mira: Peanuts!
Me: And what do monkeys eat?
Mira: Monkeys eat bananas, of course!
Me: And what do the manatees eat?
Mira: Mermaids!
Me: WHAT? Manatees don’t eat mermaids! They eat lettuce!
Mira: Well, I’ve never seen them eat lettuce.
Me: OK…uh…so what do butterflies eat?
Mira: Nectar!
Me: That’s right! And what do polar bears eat?
Mira: Polar bears eat fish! Yum, yum, yum!
Me: What about brown bears? Do they eat fish, too?
Mira: Noooooo, that’s silly. Bears eat humans!
Me: Mira, bears do not eat humans.
Mira: Yes, they doooo!
Me: Bears eat fish and plants and berries…
Mira: But sometimes they eat humans too.
Me: No, they don’t!
Mira: Well, I saw bears eating humans at the zoo.
Me: There’s no way you saw that, Mira.
Mira: That’s what I saw.
Me: [sigh] Fine, so what do zombies eat?
Mira: BRAINS!
I’ve gotta get this kid signed up for a Zoo Camp. She’s learned a lot about animals, but I think the bears and manatees are getting a bad reputation. (I mean, I know bears CAN eat people, but I’m pretty sure they’re not feeding humans to the bears at the zoo.)
LOL! I just had a similar conversation with my daughter, who is 3.
S: The shark is eating.
Me: What is the shark eating.
S: A snack! (of course! what else?)
Me: What does the shark eat for a snack? ___ pause
Me: Does the shark eat fish or cookies?
S: COOKIES!
Me: What kind of cookies?
S: CAT COOKIES!
Excellent lessons she’s learning there. And didn’t Cordy wear those glasses when she was little? She looks like her sister in that pic.