Reported conversations No.17 : the problem with similes

Two degrees at 8:30am, rising to four degrees at 11am. Grey and drizzly. The promised snow dusted the rooftops of Sant'Agata at 450m asl but dared no further.

Mealtimes in the big house on the hill are a bustling chaos. Four people and any number of cats in the same few square metres, all tripping over each other in an effort to get somewhere too fast.

M., like some devilish alchemist, is at the helm of the wood-burning cucina economica, on which lie various copper pots all bubbling away, with an ancient water kettle in the centre flipping its lid as it boils. B is usually to be found skittering around at floor level tidying up dolls, building bricks, miscellaneous parts of Transformers, and reams and reams of paper. She's popping everything into her doll's pram (that's pee-ram in this house because it's used to ram every piece of furniture, door jamb and human leg in sight). AJ is quite sensibly counting out knives, forks, glasses and plates and putting them on the table in the hopes of 50¢ for his bulging piggy bank. Mama is officiating at the table, "no, the knife on the right, darling, fork on the left..."

The other day, amid the call and response of instruction, backchat, conversation and inter-sibling insult, a little voice pipes up :

AJ : "B., you have to be careful of the paper"
B : "Why? Why you be careful da paypurr?"
AJ : "Because it will cut you. (Taking on Mama's best maestra tone) You see it's sharp."
B : "Da paypurr sharp?"
AJ : "Yes, B. it will cut you."
B : "Paypurr for drawin', paypurr not for cuttin' "
AJ : "Believe what I say, B. You have to be careful of paper. Paper can be as sharp as a fork..."