But how is it that she recognize banks???

The story "Robert the Rose Horse" is causing some lingering anxiety.

Robert himself is lovely. The issue is the bank robbers whom Robert foils with a mighty sneeze.

For the past two days or so, Sophie has been asking whether there are police men in any bank we might pass while driving. And then she asks whether there might be any bank robbers inside.

"No, no!" we say, "Bank robbers hardly ever happen outside of books."

Still she seems preoccupied with the issue.

And tonight in the bath, she earnestly told me: "Daddy, I don't like Oscar the Grouch."

"Why not?"

"He mean! Why he mean?"

I attempted to explain.

"He take dis blanket and RIP it! He mean and then Elmo go in dere. Why don't he share?"

This is roughly the plot of "Elmo in Grouchland"—a movie that she's only seen about fifteen minutes of, but which haunts her still.

She has more questions than I have answers lately.