Chapter 12

I spoke with Mum on Monday. She was still a bit feverish, but was clearly on the mend. She told me she had been stupid to go out in the garden in low shoes. I told her about Maddy's husband's fatal error. I got home from SciTech relatively early on Tuesday to face another Patrick problem.

He had been given a soft-covered book of rhymes in class. They had read "Jack and Jill." He had announced that the verse was "dumb," adding "only an idiot would look for water uphill." All the children had laughed. The teacher was discomfited and had spoken to Weena when she arrived.

I had just heard the narrative when Michiko arrived with Rachel, eager to learn what the school to-do had been about. "Nursery rhymes," Weena said, tersely. She told the tale to Michiko, who laughed.

"What do you think, Gordy?" Rachel asked.

"Well, Patrick has a good point. But the teacher should have told the class that though Mother Goose wasn't true, many of the poems reflect history," I said.

"More symbols?" asked Patrick.

"Exactly. Let me get a book from the study." I returned in a few minutes with my shabby copy of Thomas' The real personages of Mother Goose. "This is nearly a hundred years old. Let me see if I can find 'Jack and Jill'."

I did, and found the section. "It says here that King Charles tried to reform the taxes on liquid measures — like litres. So his proposal went 'up the hill.' Up Parliament Hill. He was blocked by Parliament, so he commanded that the volume of a Jack -- which was a half-pint -- a half-litre -- be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he received more tax, despite what Parliament said. That's where 'Jack fell down and broke his crown' comes from (many pint glasses in England apparently still have a line marking the half-pint level with a crown above it); 'and Jill came tumbling after' is a reference to a 'jill', (a 'gill' was a quarter-pint) because the gill dropped in volume as a result."

"So it's not about getting water at all," said Patrick.

"Right."

"Okay. C'mon, Rachel, I'll show you my new book." They went off.

"How do you stand it?" asked Michiko.

"Oh, he's not that bad. Most of the time they're good questions. They keep me on my toes. Anyway, doesn't Rachel do the same sorts of things?"

"Not as much. First of all, she's a girl. And second, I'm Japanese. I don't usually ask questions. I'm much less forceful than Weena is."

"I'm not sure about being a girl meaning much. But I understand about cultural differences." The phone rang.

"It's Daddy. He wants to talk to you."

"Hey, Rob! ... No, I hadn't ... Interesting ... I'll look at the news ... Right ... Thanks. Bye."

"What was that?"

"It seems that the Rio Tinto guy who was arrested in China has admitted to taking a million in bribes."

"And... ?"

"And your Dad is wondering whether there was hanky-panky here, too. He thinks this might be related to both our 'discovery' up north and my government letter."

"Wow! So all of this has to do with China and iron ore?"

"That's his suggestion. I'm just not paranoid enough, I guess."

The kids can running in. "What's this?" asked Patrick. He had a small beetle in his palm.

"It's a golden spider beetle. Niptus hololeucus. See how the body-shape and the antennae make it look like a spider?"

"Yeah."

"It's pretty," said Rachel.

"Yes, it is. But it's considered a pest because it eats cereals. Where did you find it?"

"By the garden door."

"Well put it back outside."

"Okay."

"Gordy?"

"Yes, Michiko?"

"Does knowing those kinds of things diminish the beauty of what you are seeing?"