I have always tried to be open and honest with my children whenever they came to me with questions, but six-year-old Peter caught me off guard one evening when he bounced in at dinner time and asked, "Mom, when you get married, does that make you pregnant?"

"No," I answered, "Getting married is not what makes you pregnant."

"Well," he persisted, "how do you get pregnant then?"

Not wishing to get into such a serious discourse¹ just before dinner, I answered, "Peter, it's a sort of a long story."

Within an impish look on his little face, he cocked his head and replied, "You don't know, do you?"

每当孩子们问我问题时，我总是试图坦诚相告。可是，有天晚上，我那六岁的儿子彼得把我难住了。他在晚饭时冲回家来，突然问道：“妈，结婚会使人怀孕吗？”

“不，”我说：“结婚不一定会使人怀孕。”

“那么，”他追问道：“你是怎么怀孕的？”

我不想在吃饭前讨论如此严肃的话题，于是答道：“彼得，这事儿一时半会也说不清楚。”

彼得的小脸上一副调皮模样，他歪着头说：“你也不知道，是吗？”