Inkblots

I was helping Brandon, a third grader, complete his end-of-the-year project on animal habitats. (You know the assignment because you've probably done it yourself: choose a habitat and create a diorama from a shoebox.) The kids were in groups, sharing about their respective habitats. Brandon has some social issues, so my presence was mainly to keep him talking and interacting with his peers

Brandon: My habitat is the grassland.
Me: So tell us, Brandon, what you included in your habitat of the grassland.
Brandon: A bush.
Me: Yep, I see the bush right there. What else?
Brandon: I got a big ol' stump sticking out of my bush.
Me (hoping none of the kids caught that potential sexual innuendo): There's a stump. What else?
Brandon: There's a gazelle there. He's chewing on the stump.
Me: The gazelle is chewing the stump? Why?
Brandon: He used to just eat the bush, but then he found the stump inside and found out that the stump tasted good.
Me: Oh. OK. What else can you tell us?
Brandon: Everything likes to play with my stump. It's buried there somewhere in my bush.
Me: Yeah? What else?
Brandon (still preoccupied with the stump/bush): My bush is just a young bush, but when it gets older, the bush will get bigger. And the stump might even grow back into a tree!
Me: Maybe. Look, here's a zebra! Tell us about why you made a zebra.
Brandon: Because the zebra likes to eat the bush too.
Me: Hmm. OK. Thanks, Brandon. Kenneth, tell me about your habitat.
Kenneth: I got a bush in my world, too. But nothing wants to eat my bush.

*sigh* Kids.