This is a story from one of my students when I was teaching in high school. I’ll call her Joanna. This happened when she was a small girl. In Poland in those days stores had mostly empty shelves, and long lines quickly formed for any item that happened to be available. But anyone with a child of two or under didn’t have to wait like everyone else.
On this particular day Joanna’s mom took her to the store. Ignoring all the dirty looks she walked straight up to the front of the line. The cashier smiled and looked at Joanna.
“Little girl,” she said in a friendly voice, “how old are you?”
She answered loudly enough for all to hear, “I’m three, but mommy wants me to say that I’m two!”
Picture: Carol Schlorff