‘¿Qué es lo que tiene un cherry on top?’
Grampo Caralampio had been busy todo el santo día. He had been trabando en el garaje trying to componer su tractor. The reason que it was taking him so long era porque una de la tuercas en el motor estaba toda rusty and grampo just couldn’t loosen that nut. Canutito happened to wander into el garage para ver lo que grampo estaba haciendo.
“Oye, m’hijo,” grampo called over to him cuando lo vio coming into the garage. “Can you go over pa’ese shelf y traime the can of ‘Knock ’er Loose?’ ”
Canutito went over pa’l shelf pero the only can que he saw en ese estante era un jarro de WD-40. “¡Grampo!” he called over to him. “Es el WD-40 la misma cosa como el ‘Knock ’er Loose?’ ”
“Sí, m’hijo,” grampo called back. “Se usa para loosen las nuts de los bolts cuando están todas mojosas.”
Canutito came back and gave el jarro to grampo and smiling as he said: “‘Knock ‘er Loose,’ grampo.” As he was watching a grampo trying to loosen the nut del tornillo, Canutito thought about un joke que he had heard en la escuela. He said to grampo :“Grampo ,I have una riddle for you: ¿Qué es black and white con un cherry on top y dos nuts in the middle?”
Grampo had never heard esa adivinanza and so he just gave up so Canutito said: “Es un police car, grampo. Do you get it? The car es negro y blanco con una luz colorada arriba y dos nuts who are the cops adentro.”
“Sí, m’hijo,” grampo replied. “Pero always remember que esos dos ‘nuts’ may save your life algún día so tenemos que respectarlos.” “I know, grampo,” Canutito said. “Los polices tienen un difficult job to do, m’hijo,” grampo went on. “People are afraid que los vayan a pescar, and they don’t want to get caught. In fact, cuando yo estaba chiquito, mis hermanos mayores used to sing una canción about not drinking and driving. Iba asina: ‘Arriba de un beer can, all covered con foam, I had one too many yno pude ir home. Llamaron al taxi, the kind con las stars. It took pa’un motel, un motel con bars.’ ”
“I get it, grampo!” Canutito smiled. “If you drink and drive entonces te llevan a un motel con bars; that means la cárcel, right?”
“Sí, m’hijo,” grampo said. “A los que toman y luego hacen drive los van a llevar straight to jail.”
Canutito said, “I think I’ll go see if grama puede hacer guess mi riddle.” He ran off and straight into la cocina and he asked her, “Grama, ¿qué es black and white con un cherry on top y dos nuts in the middle?”
Grama Cuca era murre smarte so she said: “Es un police car.” Then she added, “Ahora, I have una adivinanza for you, m’hijo: ¿Quién es el santo que tiene un cherry on top?”
Canutito just stared off into space con una blank expression. Alfin he said, “I give up, grama. ¿Qué es la answer?”
Grama Cuca brought out una little statue de un santo con algo red on top de la cabeza .“Éste es Saint Jude, el santo patrón de los impossible cases,” she said. “El ‘cherry on top’ of his head es el Espíritu Santo que le da all the wisdom he needs to solve cosas for the people.”
“I should have asked him to help me saber la answer to ¿quién tiene un cherry on top?” Canutito said. …