Last week, I saw this sign when I dropped my daughter off at school:
“What do you think it means?” I asked my ten year old.
“Model for your children,” she mused. “It must mean put on a fashion show for them.”
While I don’t think that was the message the principal had hoped to convey, the sign was confusing. It reminded me of the witty Amelia Bedelia books. Poor Amelia Bedilia, a maid in a wealthy home, gets confused by everything her bosses put on the to-do list. When asked to draw the drapes, she wonders why and then sits down with paper and pencil. When instructed to “put out the lights,” she hangs them on the clothesline. You get the idea.
Your turn. Create your own list of simple instructions or phrases that can be misunderstood and then put it in a scene. Use your characters in your work-in-progress to see how they respond. If you come up with anything especially delicious, be sure to share it here on the blog!
