Little Ben was playing hide and seek with his mother.

Only, someone forgot to tell his mom that they were playing!

So there he sat, crouched behind a bush in his backyard… stifling his chocolate-kissed giggles with a chocolate-smeared hand, enjoying his own brand of fun.

I could hear his mom yell for him. Sweetly at first,“Bay-hen! Oh Baynnn! Yoo hoo! Benjieee!”

And then with increasing irritation, “Ben?? Where ARE you?"

"BENJAMIN WHITTAKER! You come here this instant young man!”

I looked down again and sure enough, there he was, the smirking cherub with his tarnished halo hiding the two little red horns behind. Smirking, that is, until he chanced to look up and catch sight of me leaning from my balcony, watching him with the undisguised interest of a chronic voyeur.

His startled eyes widened.

Mine blinked.

He put a shushing finger against his lips. I gave a nod of complete compliance. And our pact was signed. I would stay quiet and in return, I could watch the fun unfold.

I went inside for a few minutes, figuring that I might as well grab some of my favorite mini-chocolate chip cookies for the continuation of the live entertainment. When I went back a little later, he was still at it.

This time his fingers were stuck up his nose as far as they would go. Even from where I stood I could see the tiny mounds of nose-flesh pop up and down like markers indicating the invasion of his finger.

Then, even as I watched, he slowly fished out his ‘catch’ and, in the universal symbol of kids across the world, promptly put it into his mouth. I trust the taste was not unpleasant because he looked up at me with a radiant smile.

To my credit I waited for a few seconds and managed to muster an answering grin before I dashed inside to dump my grape jelly down the drain.

Bad choice! I knew I should have stuck to popcorn.