Guinea Pigs

Tonight at dinner we had an enlightening discussion. The kids want a pet - almost any pet will do. G has been choosing library books about animals, and recently we borrowed an exciting book bout Guinea Pigs. So tonight they announced that they want to have a guinea pig. Here are excerpts from the conversation:

S: Our house is bigger than the house in the guinea pig book. (well uh yes, since the house in the book is for a ... guinea pig. and it is a cage.)

G: Da guinea pig house it is a box and it can not have a wiuh (wire) bottom, it will have a bwoo box and it will have wittle squares and a big hole and a bwoo door. And da guinea pig will eat food and water and hay.

J: That's right, a wire bottom would hurt the guinea pig's feet. (Yes, we've all studied the book together.)

S: (after deciding against naming his two guinea pigs after himself and a good pal) My two guinea pigs will be named Thomas and Salty.

G: I will make my guinea pigs a cake. I will have two guinea pigs - dey will be called S and G. And den I will have another guinea pig named Mommy. And it will be a big guinea pig. And I will have a guinea pig named Daddy. I will have two wittle guinea pigs and two big guinea pigs.

Me: So G, you want 4 guinea pigs, and S you want 2 guinea pigs? How many is that?

S: 6! (I think this is way too many guinea pigs for one house.)

G: And I will let the guinea pig out of its house to run around the kitchen.

Me: (trying to not laugh, imagining the result.)

G: The boy guinea pigs' cake will be chocolate and the girl guinea pigs' cake will be pink.

S: My guinea pigs will eat broccoli and apricots. And a whole bucket of hay.

S: I will share my toys with the guinea pigs.

So can you picture these poor pets, with this diet, and a boatload of Star Wars and Lego toys in their cage?

Oh, and if only I had a picture of G explaining all this. She sits with her left hand out to the side, wrist bent, palm up, as if saying with her hand "You see..." This is her gesture when she is informing me of her plans for the future... and she has many plans.