The Wysiwyg

 

In the emptiness around them, the wysiwyg stood before them.

 

The man observed the wysiwyg and saw a sheep.

 

“Baa,” said the wysiwyg.

 

“What are you?,” said the man.

 

“Baa,” said the wysiwyg - which the man interpreted as meaning, “I am a sheep.”

 

The woman observed the wysiwyg and saw a cow.

 

“Moo,” said the wysiwyg.

 

“What are you?,” said the woman.

 

“Moo,” said the wysiwyg - which the woman interpreted as meaning, “I am a cow.”

 

A small boy arrived, walked up to the wysiwyg and started kicking it.

 

“Hey!,” said the man, who saw and indeed heard the wysiwyg “Baa!” in distress.

 

“Hey!,” said the woman, who saw and indeed heard the wysiwyg “Moo!” in distress.

 

“What?,” said the small boy. “I am just kicking this football.”

 

The man and the woman were confused.

 

The small boy was confused. From the small boy’s point of view, he kicked the football, which flew off into the distance, then reappeared in exactly the same place. So he kicked it again. And so on.

 

“Stop kicking the sheep/cow!,” said the man/woman.

 

“What sheep/cow?,” said the small boy, as he kicked the wysiwyg again.

 

“The sheep/cow you are kicking!,” said the man/woman.

 

“But,” said the small boy, “I am just kicking this football...” - which he kicked again.

 

A girl, who looked a little bit older than the small boy, arrived, smiled and petted the wysiwyg.

 

“Unicorn!,” said the girl.

 

Everyone else (except the wysiwyg) was confused. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the girl.

 

“That’s not a unicorn,” said everyone except the girl and the wysiwyg.

 

The girl begged to differ.

 

The wysiwyg looked at the man and the woman and the small boy and the girl. The wysiwyg didn’t see a man and a woman and a small boy and a girl. The wysiwyg saw four wysiwygs standing before him.

 

The wysiwyg grinned and disappeared.