From the mouth of a babe

A PRIMARY schoolteacher asked her students to write an essay about what they would like God to do for them. At the end of the day, while marking the essays, one made her very emotional.

Her husband, who had just walked in, saw her crying and asked, "What happened?"

"Read this. It's by one of my students."

"Oh God, tonight I ask you for something very special: Turn me into a television set. I want to take its place. Have my own special place in the house. And have my family around ME.

"I want to be taken seriously when I talk, to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV gets when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he comes home from work, even when he is tired.

"And I want my mum to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me. I want my brothers to fight to be with me... I want to feel that the family will leave everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me.

"And last, but not least, make it that I can make them all happy and entertain them. God, I don't ask you for much... I just want to live like every TV."

At that, the man cried: "Poor kid. What horrible parents!"

The teacher looked up and said, "That essay is our son's!"