Mummy. Why did you have a joke about Mr. W. forgetting about his bread?
Well, this was a long time ago. One day when we were kids, my friend’s father wanted to make some bread, but he also wanted to watch tennis. So he made the dough, put it in a bowl, covered it with a cloth and left it to rise on the counter. Then he went downstairs to watch tennis. We walked past the kitchen later that afternoon and the dough had risen up over the side of the bowl and was oozing its way toward the counter – and possibly the floor. Mr. W got so wrapped in the game that he completely forgot about the bread, and we joked that the dough was trying to go down the stairs and tap him on the shoulder to remind him!
[Pascale laughs hysterically – this is not the first time I have told her this story.]
Mummy. Let’s play “Mr. W. and the bread. I will be Mr. W. and you can be the bread.”
Ok. What should I do?
You can go upstairs and get into your bowl. I’ll stay down here and watch tennis. Then after a bit, you can ooze down the stairs. Then we will switch and I will be the bread.
Whither Earthlings 