One of my favorite stories is a true story from a Psychology textbook. It’s about a little boy named Jonathan, a gifted child, three years old. His parents take him to a restaurant.
The waitress comes over and says, “Jonathan, what would you like?”
He says, “I’ll have a grilled cheese sandwich.”
She says, “Jonathan, I’m sorry, we don’t serve grilled cheese sandwiches.”
He says, “You have a grill, don’t you?”
She says, “Yes.”
He says, “You have cheese, don’t you?”
She says, “Yes.”
He says, “You have bread, don’t you?”
She says, “Yes.”
He says, “Well, I’ll have a grilled cheese sandwich.”
Three years old.
The waitress says, “Jonathan, I’ll go see if the chef will fix you a grilled cheese sandwich.”
She comes back in a little while and says, “Okay, Jonathan, the chef agreed to fix you a grilled cheese sandwich. I forgot to ask you, though, what you want to drink.”
He says, “I’ll have a milkshake.”
She says, “Jonathan, your parents have probably already told you we don’t serve milkshakes.” She was ready for him this time. She says, “Now, it is true we have milk. And it is true we have ice cream. But we don’t have syrup.”
He says, “You have a car, don’t you?”