"I nice!"

John finally gained enough self-discipline to be gentle with the cat when he turned three years old. For more than two years prior to that, I had to warn him all day long, "Be gentle with the cat!" He'd come downstairs each morning and we'd feed the cat together. Then I'd tactfully say, "Now, let's leave the cat to eat in peace," and we'd depart the laundry room and close the door so he wouldn't bother her. I thought that was more polite than my saying, "The cat won't eat if you're bonking her."

Now Mary helps me feed the cat. And when I say, "Now, let's leave the cat to eat in peace," she shouts back at me indignantly, "No! I nice!" She completely understands my implication (that she would bonk the cat) and takes offense at it. (She also screams, "No, I nice!" when the cat is running away to hide under a bed and nap.)

This morning I decided to let her try to be nice, as she swears she is. And she was nice! She just sat there, petting the cat.