I just thought of Ramona the Pest, where on the first day of kindergarten, Miss Binney shows Ramona to her seat, saying, “Sit here for the present,” which Ramona takes to mean that she’s going to get a present — which later causes confusion, until an embarrassed and apologetic Miss Binney realizes how Ramona (mis)interpreted her words. But as Ruthie so often demonstrates, kids are usually very literal, not having yet become attuned to the varied (and sometimes idiosyncratic) meanings associated with many words and phrases.
I just thought of Ramona the Pest, where on the first day of kindergarten, Miss Binney shows Ramona to her seat, saying, “Sit here for the present,” which Ramona takes to mean that she’s going to get a present — which later causes confusion, until an embarrassed and apologetic Miss Binney realizes how Ramona (mis)interpreted her words. But as Ruthie so often demonstrates, kids are usually very literal, not having yet become attuned to the varied (and sometimes idiosyncratic) meanings associated with many words and phrases.