Intheirlogic,childrencan’tdealwithbigissues.Ofcourse,theadultshavealsonevergivenchildrenthechancetocopewiththem.Butkidsareusuallylefttohandletheirownmattersalone.
Inaruralcourtyard,aboymayrushtothewatervat,gulpingdownabigladleofwaterfromit.Withonemouthfulleft,hestartsgarglingwithhislittleheadswingingdramatically.Ashespitsalltotheground,chickens,ducks,anddogsintheyardallscrambletogetapartofit.“Mum,mymouthbleeds,”theboyfrownswithhishandscoveringthecheek.Thenthesensationofpainsetsin.Hedrawsinhisbreath,tryingtorelievethepain.Itturnsouthebittheinteriorofhismouthaccidentally.
Hismotherthendismissesitwithalaugh,“You’recravingformeat.It’snotabigdeal.Don’tmakeafussaboutit.”
Yes,itmaybeatrivialmatterforadults,butstilldemandsattentionandactiontosolveit.Lastmonth,themumpromisedaftersellingalitterofpigletsshewouldbuysomemeattomakeJiaozi(Chinesedumplings).Nowtheoldsowispregnantagain.Themumhasnothonoredherpromiseyet.Howevertheboy’smouthstillsalivatesinyearningforthem.
Iftheboyreallycountsonhisparentstoappeasehiscraving,maybehehastowaittilltheSpringFestival.Thenhetakesmattersintohisownhand.Withtheslingshot,littleknife,crookedchisel,matches,andsaltpacked,tetheringthecowheislookingafteraroundatreestump,hesetsoutforthereedfield.
Iflucky,theboymightcatchawildduckbroodingeggs.Evenoutofluck,it’sstilleasyforhimtocaptureseveralbigfrogsorgetastrayedcockerel.Thenamidsmoke,meatsizzlesabovethefire.Whatamouth-wateringfeastfortheboy!
Thisoneissurelybetterthanthemincedporkinsidethedumpling.Ofcourse,adultswouldnothavethelucktosamplethisspecialgourmetmeal.However,atdinnertime,hisparents’suspicionsarearousedonwitnessingtelltaleclues:Whyisthecow’sbellyhollow?Whyareyoueatingless?“Youdidsomethingbad,didn’tyou?”
“Dad!Igotaquestionforyou.I’vethoughtaboutitverylong,butcan’tfindananswer:whyisthechickencalledchicken,notcow?Whyisthedogcalleddoginsteadoffrog?Andwhypeoplearecalledhumanbeingsratherthantrees?Whoistheonethatfirstgaveeverythingnames?Whataretheybasedon?Thereshouldbesomereasonsbehindit,right?Whatifpeoplecallthecowasdog,dogaschicken,chickenastree,andtreeashumanbeing?Wouldthatleadtochaos?”theboygivesabarrageofquestions,in-steadofrespondingtohisparents’interrogation.
Thenhefindshisdad’sfacechangecolorfromwhitetored,thentoblackwithhismouthgaping.However,noanswerisgiven.Finallythefatherfindshisvoice,pokingtheboy’sheadwithhischopsticks,“Whereareallthefarfetchedthingsfrom?Evenfoodcan’tgagyourmouth.”
Inalookreekingofcondescension,thefatherputsonanimpatientexpression.Theimplicationisclear,“whatatrivialmatteritis!”Isthatworthstudy?Infact,theboydidrackhisbrain,tryingtofigureoutthereasons.Surelyhefailed.However,hehadnotplannedtoaskhisparentsbecausehebelievedhewouldnotgetanyreasonableanswerfromthem.Justnowhejustuseditasadistraction.
Nevertheless,therearethingsthatshouldbehandledbyadults,forexampleillness,whichnokidcanescape.
Adultsalwaysdisdainfullysay,“Beingmortalasweare,it’sinevitabletofallill.”However,whyisitalwayskidswhogetiteasily?Andmoreunbearablearethebitterpills.Whoinventedthem?Unimaginablethattheycancureillnessfortheylookmorelikepoisons.It’sreallyhardtoswallowthem.
Butthereareatypeofpillsthatchildrenlove–“pagodacandy”(TrochisciPiperaziniPhosphatis,widelyusedbychildreninChina’sruralareastoexpelroundwormsintheirintestines).However,theterriblethingis:aftertakingthespecialcandy,wormswouldappearintheirexcrement.Thisusuallysendschildrenintopanic.Andtheycometogethertodiscussaboutit.Theywonderwhetherwormsarehiddeninthepagodacandy.
Aboutthematterofpagodacandyandworms,theadultsshowthesamesneeringattitude.“Whatabigfussoversuchatrivialthing!Ofcourse,wormsarefromyou!It’sthepagodacandythatpoisonedwormsinsideyou.”
“Hmm,Isee.”Sincethen,whentheygetill,thepagodacandyistheonlymedicinetheywanttotake.Bitterpills,evenmixedwithsweetwater,failtoconvincethem.Asthemixedliquidcoolsdown,themedicinewillloseitsfunction.Angeredbythat,theparentswouldshout,“Ifyoudon’tdrinkit,I’lllettheoldsowfeedonyou!”
Althoughitsoundsterrifying,nokidreallybuysit.Theyalreadytalkedaboutittogether,andcametotheconclusion:Theoldsowonlyfeedsongrass,fodder,andleftovers.Noonehasseenorheardaboutasoweatingkids.
Seeingnomethodworks,adultsresorttotheirmosteffectivetrumpcard.Puttingthebowlonthetable,theygototheirbike.“Sinceyourefusetohavemedicine,wehavetotakeyoutothehospitaltogetaninjection.”
Thissimpleconditionworkslikeamagicspell,causingthechildren’sfacetoturnwhite,andthensubmissivelydrinkalltheviletastingmedicinemixtureup.
GONGGAOFENGisacolumnwriter.