Fuss: A Revealing Anecdote

Tiner was digging around in the entryway closet the other day and re-discovered a stack of 'educational' puzzles we'd stored away for 'the right time' and promptly forgotten all about.  One depicted a 7 foot long caterpillar, each puzzle piece a body segment emblazoned with a different letter of the alphabet & bedecked in various glamorous footwear.

Fuss was entranced and they spent the evening laying it across the carpet like a trans-living room railway while I dredged stale books from the garage.

The next morning it was my turn, and we'd progressed as far as 'N' when he sat back, considering the view, then pulled everything apart.

"Ah...what are you doing?" I inquired, struggling manfully to suppress my exasperation.

He smiled and began assembling the pieces before him in random, overlapping order.

"Making my OWN alphabet, Dada."