I Didn't Even Know That Was A Flavor

Hannah comes up to me with two toy ice-cream cones, one pink and one white.

"Which one do you want, Aba?"

"What are the different flavors?"

"This one is strawberry, and this one is coconut."

"Strawberry, please."

She holds out the white one. "Here, you can have coconut."

"But I don't like coconut!"

"You have the coconut, and I have the strawberry."

"But I asked for the strawberry!"

Rachelle walks over. She's been watching the whole exchange. "Yacov," she says, in a tone usually reserved for very small children, "what difference does it make?"

"The difference is that I don't like coconut, and she offered both."

"So, Yacov, why don't you just pretend that it's not coconut?"

"Fine," I say, turning to Hannah, "I'm going to pretend it's not coconut."

"Okay," replies Hannah, "then pretend that it's banana."

"But I also don't like banana!"

"Do you like chicken?"

"Yes, I like chicken."

"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. It's chicken."

I look her straight in the eyes for a long moment, then take the cone. "Chicken it is."