"Daddy fell down the stairs..."

It is 5.40. Polly is about to phone home to tell me she is leaving. The phone rings. Mick points up at the phone and shouts "ooooh, ooooh, ooooh," which means "the phone is ringing". I hoist him onto my waist, pick up the phone and give it straight to him.

"Hello?" says Polly.

"Hello," says Mick.

"Hello..Mick?" says Polly.

"Hello," says Mick.

Polly thinks Mick has picked up the phone by himself. Mick is now making various grunts and Polly is repeating "Mick?".

This is too good an opportunity to waste. I pop the phone on speaker, hand it to Elly and whisper into her ear "Say Daddy has fallen down the stairs,"

"Mummy, Daddy has fallen down the stairs," says Elly.

There is a moment of silence.

"Elly, has Daddy really fallen down the stairs?" says Polly. Her voice is very calm and measured.

"No, he is joking," says Elly. She sounds delighted.

Tonight I have learnt that this is not funny and that normal people don't make jokes like this.