This is one of our all-time favorite Sesame Street clips. Henry's been especially into it lately, asking me to sing the Beautiful Creatures Alphabet instead of the usual song. At the end, he always adds in the little ululation (which I love, because it gives me an excuse to use the word "ululation.")
Ladysmith Black Mambazo always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When Henry was born my parents bought me a collection of world lullabies to play for him. In that first week, when I nursed all day and night and Henry never seemed to sleep, I listened to it over and over and over. This song was my favorite:
Listening to it transports me every time to a dark room in our old apartment, bouncing Henry in his hand-me-down vibratey chair until it completely died and we had to go to Walmart in the middle of the night to get a new one, and I am filled up with the same wonder and fear and awe for my little child that was so new then and has never really gone away.
And then, today, when we sing this African alphabet, Henry reminds me how great it is to have a 3-year-old now, with his sharp imagination and sneaky wit.
He interrupts me while I'm singing. "Mommy, what's a kudu?"
Me: "I think it's like a little deer." (It's a big deer, but score for me, I was close!)
He thinks about this while I finish the song. Then: "The sleepy tiger is hungry. He's going to get the kudu and eat him all up."
I laugh. He grins. Says, "Then the tiger's going to eat up Kermit."
I can't wait to see what else I'm in for with this kid.
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