The Prayer Whistle

The Prayer Whistle

         My little three year old angel was working her way through a bowl of Captain Crunch, watching Sesame Street stretched out in her pj's on the living room floor. Today's word was 'Whistle'. She was paying attention and questioned me as to why different things used the same word. Answering her the word meant a sound produced, only seemed to irritate her and said words should only mean one thing. I agreed with her and went back to the sports page and my coffee. She was such a bright little girl. She took everything literally, so much so I had to choose my words and explanations very carefully or she would accuse me of a fib if she discovered a discrepancy in it.


         In the distance a siren began to wail and get closer to our neighborhood. She turned and asked me, “What's that noise daddy?” “It's a siren, Sweetheart” I replied glancing down at her. “What does it mean?” Now there are different types of vehicles which use sirens, police cars, firetrucks, and ambulances and I could already see a “You fibbed Daddy!” coming from this conversation. If I told her it was one of them now and she saw a different type go by I would lose a certain amount of credibility in her eyes, and no father wants that to happen.


         I thought about it for a moment before answering her in simple truthful terms she could understand. I thought of what a siren really means in life. “Well Sweetheart, it means someone somewhere is having a really bad day and we should say a little prayer for them to be okay.” She closer her eyes and wrinkled her forehead for a moment then dug back into her Captain Crunch. She turned around to me suddenly and “ You know Daddy, it really shouldn't be called a siren.” “Why's that Sweetheart?” I asked. “It should be called a Prayer Whistle because that's what it really is.”


Word count: 333 with title