So, when Chang falls in the well, there’s a bucket in there, why doesn’t Tikki tikki tempo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo just pull him up? Or have the parents taught them nothing except to avoid the well? If that’s the case, I’m not confident of their ability to discuss the importance of contraception when it’s time to have the birds and the bees conversation.
And shouldn’t they have done a little family style lessons learned session after Chang was fished out? “Listen, kids, if this ever happens again, just run right to the old guy with the ladder cuz that’s all I’m gonna be able to tell you to do.”
My favorite part is when Chang is trying to tell his mother that Tikki tikki tempo has fallen in the well for the third time, and he’s so distraught and out of breath that he says it like this: “Honorable Mother! Chari bari rembo tikki tikki — pip pip has fallen into the well!” When I read it aloud, I practically spit the “pip pip” out.
What gives with this moral? The ONLY lesson all of China took from these near tragic mishaps is to give the first son — the one they actually care about — a short name, just like the second son? That seems of limited value, given their current one child policy, I must say. Sheesh.