The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-03
MYSTERIES OF BABY TALK
Phiiadelnhia Press.

Philadelphia Press.
l spent last Sunday in the country. l was
likewise in the midst of domestic circle
tyAo domestic circles in fact-concentric cir
cles at that, for two married couples were
conformity keeping house. And each couple
had an interesting youngster that was just
beginning to talk.
We had reached the fish stage in the din
ner when one of the youngsters observed:
'Dragagu brigger brig
"She wants piece of bread, Joe. Butter
it and give it to her, said the mother.
Joe, who was the proud father of the lin
guistic marvel Immediately gave the
youngster the bread, and she at once evil
denced her delight by growing and looking
her thanks to her mother.
'Wil you kindly tell me-" I asked, "by
what occult powers of reasoning you ar
rived at the fact that your baby wanted a
piece of bread?'
why didn't you understand that?" and
the mothers voice showed genuine surprise
why, she said she wanted a piece of
bread just as plainly as I'm saying it now"
I felt very guilty. then, but my embar
rassment was relieved when the other
youngster said: 'Aky, gar du dar dar"
Chandler" said the second mother
and he wants it unloosened"
And while Chandler was unloosening the
bib I turned to the mother: Ibid the baby
say all that in that little sentence?"
'You don't mean to tell me that you didn't
understand him?' she quered in astonish-
ment.
WELL" said slowly, mot at first. I see
now that he couldn't possibly have said
anything else. It's wonderful how well they
can make themselves understood"
And during the rest of the dinner re-
Trained from making any comments on the
efforts of the two babies to keep up
spirited conversation without utilizing
about twenty letters of the alphabet.
After dinner was over the men mounted
their wheels to pedal over to the postoffice.
1 was tired and said I'd sit on the porch
until they returned
"Well, I'll leave the baby on the porch
with you" said one Of the mothers. Pau
line has to put her youngster to sleep, and
I'll go up and change my gown while you
entertain Ruth"
And that's how it happened that Ruth
the baby and yours truly happened to mis-
understand each other.
For the first fifteen minutes we got along
famously, Ruth being very busy with a col
ored ball of cotton, and being immersed in
a Sunday paper. Then the baby remarked:
MOO loki baa baa."
I didn't place any particular significance
to this sage remark, and continued to read
In a few seconds the baby repeated it
implied too, if l could judge by the rising
infection in the youngsters voice.
put down my paper with sigh and sat
clapped my hands softly together. hadn't
the fainteSt idea what goo, goo" meant
but neither had the baby, L reasoned. and
L wasn't going to give the youngster the
slightest advantage over me, for l foresaw
trouble
look of blank amazement spread over it's
pudgy face, and it was some seconds before
it could recover from its surprise and splut-
ter out its first propositions Moo lolCi, baa
baa." There was an air of offended dignity
"Ah." / said. and I reached out for the
reach-''here it is" / murmured as | passed
the plaything to the little ,autocrat
The fat little fingers closed on the ball
and then, with all her infantile strength.
she threw it at me. Moo. lok baa baa,"
she said, her little forehead in a scowl
/ wrinkled my brows, too, then, Moo
lok baa baa," [ repeated to myself. What
in the mischief do those cabalistic words
mean?" And as looked at the baby noted
that the little face had cleared and she was
smiling, because, poor, misled soul. she had
heard me use the same words she had used,
L
at her sadly to dissuade her from any such
optimistic thought.
Moo lok baa. baa," she repeated plain
lively, looking at me queStionably.
The conversation was decidedly monoto-
nous, but | felt that it was none the less
tragic Moo, loki. baa baa, 1 said, puzz-
ling nv wits for the phonetic interpreta-
ton. Then, like flash. l hit on it. BY
moo, loki baa baa' she means me like
baby?-and she puts it in the form of
question Certainly me like baby" / as
sured her gleefully, and by way of empha-
sizing the fact prodded her gently in the
ribs.
At least 1 thought it was gently. AS it
was, however, it was of sufficient force to
upset the youngster, and her head and the
porch came violently in contact. In an in
slant l had put her in a sitting posture
again, and, rubbing her head the while,
assured her that l certainly did Like her.
Moo, loki, baa, baa, she repeated, and
this time she shrieked the horrible phrase
at me and beat q tattoo with her tiny heels
on the porch. 1t was very evident she was
losing her temper.
/ stopped rubbing her head then, and be-
gan to rub my own. / never felt my pitiful
ignorance so keenly. Here this baby knew
precisely what she wanted, had told me
repeatedly what she wanted, and yet from
my deplorabie lack of knowledge of the
early forms OF philolosy L was incapable
of understanding a simple sentence like
Moo, loki, baa baa.'
l was getting desperate and so was the
baby. And so, in sheer desperation l took
my watch from my pocket, put il in my
mouth gleefuly and then passed il to the
baby, intimatng by the action that she
too, could indulge in the same intellectual
treat. But she pushed ii from her disdain-
fully and repeated that haunting, BRAIN
racking phrase: Moo, loki, baa baa."
The tone Of her voice, the expression Of
her face, her whole being. showed her thor
ough disgust of me. She had evidently come
to the conclusion that l was the most thor
oughly uneducated person she had ever met.
Then ] reached out for the yarn ball and
threw it enthusiastically In the air, calling
out $50 hgh-so high with all the Joy /
could muster into my voice. For I'd seen q