The other morning, I had a quiet moment reading a picture book with my youngest. He’s going into first grade, and very excited about how well he’s reading, but he still likes me to read to him. I’m kind of hoping he always will.

The story ended with a bunch of birds bringing juicy red berries to a bunch of mice. It was a classic picture book moment, with the mice realizing that the birds could be their friends, after all. In the final picture, each picture held a red berry in its beak as it flapped down to the waiting mice.

“…the berries were the best they ever tasted.” I read.

“I know why,” the little guy said.

“Why?”

“It’s cause of the bird spit. That’s what made the berries taste so good.”