This and that

A frequent conversation-starter in our house is this: "Henry? What are you up to?"
The other day I followed up with "Are you getting into mischief?"
Henry bounded into the room. "Yes! I am!" he said, beaming. "I opened the refrigerator door and was looking inside and I whispered to myself, 'It's mischief time!'"

***

The dialogue I am listening to right now:
"Dammit, Jamie!"
"No! Dammit HENNy!"

***

Henry is drawing when a question suddenly occurs to him. He stops in mid-petal, chewing on the end of a turquoise crayon. "Mommy, who did Eleanor pop out of?"

***

This is an old--but good--one.
Peter was talking some months ago to Mr. Gleeson about the imponderables Henry presents us with. He gave these examples: How big is electricity? and What are people for?
Mr. Gleeson later reported recounting this conversation to his son-in-law, a first-grade teacher whose son at the time was rising two. Mr. Gleeson told me that Reuben thought the first one would stump him, but that he could handle the second.
"And Peter told me just the opposite," Mr. Gleeson said.