<p class="ql-block">Today's heroine is once again my sweet five-year-old granddaughter. Her favorite TV show is Bluey (an Australian animated series for preschoolers). The mischievous and clever puppy always brings her into a world of joy. But her dad has a rule: no TV for too long. Surprisingly, today, after watching two episodes, she actually flipped the off the control on her own, nodding like a grown-up, as if to say, "Rules are rules."</p><p class="ql-block">As soon as the TV turned off, she immediately squatted on the floor and scooped up a pile of Bluey dolls. The small living room instantly became her fantasy stage. She had the puppies driving around, arranged the dolls into a "boarding" line at the airport, and even built a "restaurant" out of building blocks, chattering to herself as she arranged the items, sometimes imitating the cashier's order with ding-dongs, and sometimes solemnly mimicking her parents' voices. She sprinkled in a few Chinese and Spanish phrases with her English. "Everyone line up! The plane's about to take off!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement as she held up a stuffed puppy. The next moment, another stuffed puppy shook its head and said, "But I still have to get ice cream!" And so, she played a multitude of characters, the plot hopping freely, like a fairy tale without a .</p><p class="ql-block">Interestingly, she often secretly "incorporated" her daily life into her games: sometimes she limited the puppies to watch "only two episodes of TV," sometimes she had to "put them to sleep," and sometimes they lined up to brush their teeth. Her actions were hilarious yet full of childlike innocence. It turned out that she already had a small world of order and rules in her mind.</p><p class="ql-block">Watching her play so intently, I couldn't help but chuckle. The fantasy world of childhood is truly a stage that no adult, no matter how clever, could create. In a child's world, dolls can talk, building blocks can fly, chairs can be ships on the sea, and the floor is an infinitely extending kingdom.</p><p class="ql-block">Perhaps one day she will grow up and no longer converse with these little "friends." But at least for now, her laughter and her fantasies are weaving a colorful dream for our home.</p> <p class="ql-block">Reading to my granddaughter for half an hour every day brings back my inner child. Children have excellent listening skills and memory. After reading twice, she can memorize an entire book word for word. Even though she doesn't know all her ABCs, she'll correct me if I'm lazy and miss a word. Or she'll ask me questions when she encounters a new word she doesn't understand, which is like a test for my English.</p> <p class="ql-block">Kevin Liang is an artist who is living in New York City. For more of his work, please click the link below:</p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><a href="http://www.h-ceramic.com.cn/53cxv1td" target="_blank">紐約市57街地鐵站上的Alex Katz藝術(shù)作品</a></p>