Little Nutbrown Hare is 4 years old. He has a little brother and hasn’t fully adjusted to sharing the throne of his world. This may drive a state of heightened emotional volatility.

Big Nutbrown Hare is 35 years old. As far as I can tell, he is a well disposed and responsible father.

My son is in the same class as Little Nutbrown Hare. A few days in a row, he said that Little Nutbrown Hare had been rough to him (spitting, pushing) and perhaps to others as well. It’s hard for me to fully understand my son’s stories sometimes.

It reminded me that, not long ago, my son went through a phase that turned him into a bully. At the park, he would block the slide so others could not play, push kids off playgrounds, even chase them with sticks. My wife and I could not find a way to tame the beast, but then that phase came to its end, and he is now a well behaved (un)productive member of our society.

school playdate

Yesterday, the school organized a playdate and invited parents and siblings. My wife had wanted to meet Little Nutbrown Hare’s parents in the hopes of loosening the tension between our kids, but they could not attend.

Oh well.

Then this happened.

My wife was talking to another mom and mentioned Little Nutbrown Hare. She responded “yes, I heard about that kid, he’s already been called to the principal’s office a number of times”.

Another mom joined the conversation and informed that Big Nutbrown Hare had been summoned to the school office also.

The woman went on to describe several of Little Nutbrown Hare’s transgressions, misdemeanors, and felonies.

And then she uttered this charming verse:

“I hate jumping to conclusions, but he must have learned those behaviors from his parents”

… but the poor kid is just four years old… Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!