//------------------------------// // Story #32 // Story: THIS IS A STORY // by _NAME_ //------------------------------// The colt stared at his mother with wide open eyes, watching and listening intently as she said something to him, even though he was too young to understand what exactly she was saying. He had just woken up from a nap, and was still feeling a little groggy, and his mother had carried him into the kitchen and set him down in his high chair so that she could feed him. His mother spoon-fed him his favorite mush for several minutes, entertaining the colt as she went by making funny noises and laughing, and flying the spoon around in the air before bringing it to his mouth so he could eat it. Another couple of spoonfuls later, she fed him the last of his food, and, despite him opening his mouth again, obviously wanting some more carrot-flavored mash, she did not give him anymore. Instead, she giggled at his expression as he realized that he was not getting any more food, and started speaking to him again, in a high-pitched tone of voice, and eventually started to repeat the same, simple sounds over and over again, and looking at him as if urging him to say them too. Now more curious about the noises that his mother was making than wanting more food, he quickly forgot about the mush and he focused his attention on the shapes her lips were forming, studying them. Then, with some effort, the colt opened his mouth and forced out a noise that sounded, to his ears at least, very similar to the ones his mother was making, though not quite the same. Regardless, it seemed to excite his mother because she gasped loudly, smiled, and she began repeating the same sounds again, more intensely this time. The colt listened to her once more, and then he tried again, and successfully spoke his first word, much to his mother’s delight.