On Being Dark

Max (watching the water drain out of his bath): "Mommy, do you know where the water goes?"

Me: "Not really- ask daddy"

Max: "No, I already know! It goes down the drain and into a pipe and then down another drain"

Me: "And then where does it go?"

Max: "These men come and pick the water up in dump trucks in the middle night, but we aren't supposed to see them, because if we do, they'll kill us!"

Me: "Max! No one is going to kill us!"

(This, after he had turned a plastic bird he was playing with upside down on the edge of the bath and declared it was dead. When asked why, he said because it had gone into the water, which, while dark for a 4 year old, is actually quite logical)