What do houses eat??

Judah has a new game he likes to play with me. We start with your basic garden variety "What does this animal eat?" questions: "What do dogs eat? What do tigers eat? What do elephants eat?" and move gradually into the more exotic and intellectually challenging questions.

"Mama, what do shoes eat?"

me, getting all educational and rational; "Well, Judah, actually shoes don't eat anything. Shoes aren't alive. Only things that are alive eat food."

Judah, incredulous that a woman of my intelligence just doesn't get it: "NOooooo, Mama, shoes eat SOCKS!"

"Really, Judah? What do socks eat, then?"

"Feet!"

Oh, of course! Now I get it-- he's talking relationships of one object to another. What goes inside what-- you get the picture, right? So then by extrapolation, pants eat legs, chairs eat bottoms, plants eat dirt, cups eat juice and houses...

"Mama, what do houses eat?"

me, because I get it now: "Houses eat people!"

Judah, with a shocked and horrified expression expression; "Nooooo, houses don't eat people! Houses eat ROOOOFS!"

Sometimes you just can't win. There's no out-logic-ing a toddler.