Isabelle and the Cosmos

Isabelle asked if we had any books on the beginning of the universe (apart from my Story of Everything, which she has read many times). I said all we had was Stephen Hawking's "Brief History of Time," which was "very complicated, and even Daddy doesn't quite get it."

Tonight I noticed she had the book out. "I haven't met any words I don't know yet," she said.

"How far did you get?"

"They were just talking about how some people think the earth is round and flies through space, and some think it's flat with a lot of tortoises."

Hmm. Yes, I think I remember the tortoise.

She continues: "Then it just asks a lot of questions."

"Like what?"

"Like how did the universe begin, and was it going to end."

Okay, not a detailed critique, but I'm damned if she doesn't have the concept down. If she can tell me about the "arrows of time" next week I'm going to lose my teeth.