Questions

From the mouths of babes: an amalgamation of weird and wonderful questions from young anomolous brains.

By Caroline Corker

Did you know that cucumber is a fruit?

Asked whilst hopping around the room, pretending to be a bunny.

Would you go outside naked if there was a fire and you didn’t have time to put your pyjamas on?

Asked with a genuine, ardent look of consideration and seriousness, planning for all life’s eventualities and inevitabilities.

How do I fall asleep?

Asked with eyes rolling back into the gentle rippling waves of slumber, with soporific, hypnotic melodies playing in the background.

Would you like to know how to get from Newcastle to Birmingham avoiding major motorways?

Asked without making eye contact, fiddling with a jacket sleeve, clutching a mini road atlas, desperately unsure as to the desired answer.

Can you watch me?

Asked whilst whirling around on a bar, never stopping for breath. Asked dizzily. Asked and acted upon, without ever hearing the answer. Asked in hope and anticipation.

Who scored the winning goal in the 1972 FA Cup final for Leeds United in the 53^rd minute?

Asked with fervent enthusiasm, flushed cheeks, paper shuffling, pencil bouncing, ardently hunched forward.

What would I be called if I was someone else?

Asked in the middle of a calm, contemplative moment, with wonder and awe. What possibilities life has.

Who would I be if I wasn’t me?

Asked with trepidation and worry; uncertainty and anxiety invading soft, pillowy cheeks. Asked with endlessly moving legs, a furrowed brow, a downturned mouth.

Can you tell me a story?

Asked with wide eyes, with a head overflowing with worlds, people, creatures, words. Asked with love, wonder, adoration, trust. Asked with crossed fingers – it is late, after all.