October 1, 2009: Kids say...dictionary ninja

Setup: Ella (5) is reading. So much so that, for her birthday, she got, not one, but two, children's dictionaries. She's recently discovered the Magic Treehouse series and is enjoying them. Book #5 is "Night of the Ninjas".

Ella: What does ninja mean?
Jen: Well, let's look it up.

nin-ja (nin-juh) noun - A person who is highly trained in ancient Japanese martial arts, especially one hired as a spy or an assassin.

Ella: Mommy, what's an assassin?
Jen (worried where this is going): I guess we need to look that up, too. (aside) I'm kind of glad she doesn't know... or, at least, didn't.

as-sas-si-nate (uh-sass-uh-nate) verb - To murder someone who is well known or important, such as a president.

Ella (cheerfully): Now we need to look up 'murder'.
Jen: (aside) Oh dear.

mur-der (mur-dur) verb - to kill someone deliberately.

Jen (trying to bring this back): So... you know when there's a bug in the house... and Mommy steps on that bug to kill it. That would be murder.
Andy (trying to help): Actually, mommy often calls daddy in to squish the bug. That makes me an assassin.
Ella: I like to squish bugs, too. I'm a bug ninja.
Jen (relieved): Yes you are, sweetie.