One evening，in the midst¹ of dinner preparation，our 10 yearold daughter asked，“Mom my， what's puberty？”My wife was rushed at the moment，so she suggested² that Peggy look up the word in the dictionary，after which they could talk about it．

A few minutes later，Peggy returned．Her mother asked what the dictionary had said．“Puberty means，”announced Peggy，“the earliest age at which a girl is able to bear children．”

“What do you think of that？” my wife asked．

“I'm not sure，” Peggy replied．“I've always been able to bear children．It's adults I can't bear．”

2．青春期

一天晚上，在准备晚饭的时候，我们十岁的女儿问：“妈妈，什么是青春期？”我的妻子此时正忙得不亦乐乎，所以她建议佩吉到字典上查这个词，然后她们可以再讨论它。

几分钟以后，佩吉回来了。她妈妈问字典上怎么说。“青春期的意思是，”佩吉宣布：“一个女孩能忍受孩子①的最早年龄。”

“你怎么想呢？”我妻子问。

“我不知道，”佩吉回答。“我总能忍受孩子。让我忍受不了的是大人。”