Parents Solve A Problem Together [FICTOID]
“How do you prepare a woolly rhinoceros?” Ugh-ooh-ahh asked. “Boil it?”
“We don’t have a pot that big,” said Ooh-ahh-ugh, his mate.
“In fact, we don’t have pots at all,” said Ahh-ugh-ooh, their next cave neighbor. “We’re troglodytes, after all.”
Ugh-ooh-ahh plucked a bug out of Ooh-ahh-ugh’s hair and casually ate it.
“Don’t snack between meals,” Ooh-ahh-ugh said. “It sets a bad example for the children.”
Ugh-ooh-ahh glanced at their children, busy playing by throwing rocks at one another. “I think that would be hard,” he said, poking through Ooh-ahh-ugh’s hair for more insects.
“We could barbecue it,” said “Ahh-ugh-ooh.
“Can’t,” said Ugh-ooh-ahh. “We burned down the last forest a week ago, remember?”
“I can’t even remember yesterday,” said Ahh-ugh-ooh. “Hello. My name’s Ahh-ugh-ooh.”
“Hi, Ahh-ugh-ooh,” said Ugh-ooh-ahh and Ooh-ahh-ugh in unison (they had been through this routine with Ahh-ugh-ooh many times before).
“We could roast it,” Ooh-ahh-ugh said, snapping her fingers. “There’s a volcano just down the street. We could dump it in there and it would be ready by dinner.”
“Good idea,” said Ugh-ooh-ahh. Standing up with a wobble -- walking erect was a new thing for him -- he shouted to the cave children. “Kids! An announcement! Gather up some fruit and flower petals and dirt and rocks and feathers -- we’re going to roast this woolly rhinoceros!”
As the kids scampered off to father the seasoning, Ooh-ahh-ugh said, “I’ll bring placemats.”
“I’ll bring drinks,” Ahh-ugh-ooh said. “I just invented something to carry liquids.” He sketched it out in the dirt with his big toe. “I call it an umbrella.”
© Buzz Dixon