Flocking flockers

I am supposed to be working on a paper right now--and I have completed several paragraphs already this evening. Posts for the next couple weeks will probably be sporadic as a result. Nonetheless, I can't help but share this little anecdote.

Scooter likes to pretend that he is a character from one of the shows he watches. He will announce who he is and then assign other roles to each of us. The most common version of this game is that he is Max, I am Ruby, and Trillian is Louise. He has also told us before that Trillian is Toupie, he is Binoo, and I am Patchy-Patch. But today's version really takes the cake.

Scene: Car ride home from school. Almost home. Mouse in front seat, Scooter in back.

Scooter: I'm Bong and you're Bing.*
Mouse: OK. And who's [Trillian]?
S: He's a Flocker.
(Now gender and pronouns is one of the things we're working on, so a gentle correction is in order.)
M: [Trillian]'s a girl, so we say "She."
S: ...is a Flocker.
M: Yes. But I need you to say "She."
S: ...is a Flocker.
M: OK. Say "She."
S: She. Is a Flocker.

I relate this to Trillian when we get home. She gives me a hard look, convinced I put our son up to it. So a little bit later:

Scooter: I'm Bong.
Trillian: And I'm Bing, so who's [Mouse]?
S: No, [Mouse] is Bing. You're a Flocker.

I am smiling still.

* Brief tutorial. Bing is the larger white alien, Bong is the dog-like, six-legged alien. A Flocker is one of those bird-like animals on the right (slightly different versions on each planet). We do wonder about the creators of Tiny Planets and if the names are really a big joke.