Pattern Perception

When we saw the granddaughters in Anchorage we were telling riddles and math tricks.  One said to me, laughing excitedly "If I gave you six apples in a bowl and I took four, how many would I have?"  I hesitated, not seeing the trick and wondering what was up.  I figured there was some part of this joke that she had forgotten.  Before I could answer she laughed louder and said "Four!  I already told you that! HAHAHA!" It occurred to me that many of the jokes we tell to children that shoot over their heads, which is easy to do because of developmental changes, must sound like this to them.  It's a joke.  You are supposed to laugh.  They get that part.  They get the music and poetry of the thing, but not the lyrics.