As all parents would, we dread to be caught in a "life and death" situation with our children. By that I mean having to explain "where do babies come from" and "what is death all about".
We were caught in a situation which none of us were prepared for few days back. A lizard was scrambling for life running around the corridor like a headless chicken, Mummy and the maid were screaming our lungs out, while Matty and Elaina froze and couldn't quite figure out the what the commotion was about. Daddy ended the episode by stepping and killing the lizard there and then. Very soon the following conversation ensued...
Matty: Is lizard sleeping?
The adults: Ermmm... yup the lizard is sleeping
Matty: Why the eyes not closed?
The adults: Lizards sleep with eyes opened.
It was really horrible to know that we lied through our teeth... but was probably the best that we could do knowing that the time is still not ripe for us to go into a lengthy discussion with Matty on the topic of death. We were just not mentally prepared for it. Hopefully we will do better in time to come... but preferably this opportunity comes later than sooner.