Skibbie called me The Emperor Penguin....I guess I have to take it as a compliment

I have been reading "The Scarlett Letter".  Why, oh why, would anyone read this book of their own free will?  I never had to read it in school (high school or college).  It is a question I have been asking myself as I sit with book and dictionary in hand. 

Old English....Proper 19th century English is HARD people!  But I consider myself a lifelong learner, so I'm challenging myself. 

It is a good thing I started reading it so I could brush up on my literary gab.  Skibbie is reading "A Christmas Carol" for her school assignment.  She has never seen the movie, so she has no reference for the book.  She is seriously struggling with the reading and I have been helping her with the mountains of vocabulary. 

[Insert random thought:  If Usher and other rappers would sing in Old English, they would be doing a significant service to all junior high English teachers in the United States.  Usher, Eminem, Pink....if you are reading this....help a mom out!]

So, as we picked up Dicken's seasonal classic AGAIN last night, Skibbie said, "Mom, you are my Emperor Penguin".

me:  "What are you talking about?  Should I be offended?"
Skibbie:  "No, mom.  You are like the Emperor Penguin who chews all the food then spits it out to feed the babies."
me: "So I'm chewing up Dickens and spitting it out for you?"
Skibbie:  "Yes."
me:  "I don't think that's a good thing."
Skibbie:  "Sure it is.  It's the only way I understand it.  Here's the book.  I underlined all the words I don't know."
me:  "We have a big book called a dictionary that will tell you the meaning of all these words.  You could look them up.  We could look them up together."
Skibbie:  "That's not what an Emperor Penguin does."

She always knows how to appeal to my aristocratic side.  She's going to be a lawyer.  Or a salesperson.