Awful When You Think of It by Graham Greene. Short summary

5 seconds

The unnamed protagonist was riding in a train carriage. He saw a baby lying in a basket near him. His mother was sitting next to the baby. When she left, the main character started talking to the baby.

1 minute

The main character, whose name is unknown, was in a train carriage. When he rode in such carriages and saw children, he liked to imagine what they would become in the future. The protagonist looked at the infant lying in a basket not far from him. To the protagonist’s serious surprise, the baby looked back at him.

Next to the baby was his mother, who soon stepped away for a while. Before she left, the woman smiled at the protagonist, as she understood that he would be able to look after her child.

The protagonist approached the wicker basket in which the baby was lying and then asked him what he had. In response, the baby blew a white bubble of considerable size. But the protagonist understood him without words.

Next, the protagonist told him that he hadn’t seen him in his usual place in a long time. The kid smiled in response, and then winked at the main character. The latter had no doubt at all that the child was saying something.