In Which I Involuntarily Cause the Beating of Small Children

Today I saw the cutest kid in the hallway. She was probably about four years old, and was dressed in a big padded jacket with the little sleeve covers to keep the cuffs from wearing out. Her hair was done up nicely in two little pigtails curled nicely, as cute as can be. She was furious and screaming, holding two plastic stools brandishing one at us as we climbed the stairs below her. She stopped screaming as I walked by her, but still looked like she wanted to slam me in the knee with it as I approached. I stopped to ask her what the matter was, but she wouldn't look at me. She flung one stool away and focused on the other slamming it over and over on the ground.

I thought she might have been mad at me because of what happened yesterday. I was at home by myself contemplating my next blog entry when I heard loud crashing sounds on the stairs. I tried to ignore it, but the banister is one long hollow matrix of stainless steel tubing welded together that runs from the first floor to the sixth, so if you strike it, it is very sonorous, and can be heard throughout the building. The noises did not stop and I went out to check on the source. I was afraid it was outsiders (外地人）up to something. I went down one flight and found the little girl mentioned above. She was with her little brother who she would order to bring her a plastic bottle or tin can which she would then drop down the stairwell. I asked her what she was doing. She showed me and I began to try to talk her out of it. Then her mother came out and stared at me funny like. So I explained what was happening. The mother was very surprised to see a foreigner and proceeded to decrease her feeling of awkwardness by thrashing both toddlers. I tried to tell her it didn't matter, but she was already chasing them back into her apartment smacking wildly. My mother in law says here, if someone complains about your kids and you don't hit them it might seem like you are ignoring the complaint. Maybe that's why the poor kid wasn't happy to see me.