Tony sits on Dad's lap.

Sunday evening, Tony was sitting on the couch and playing Angry Birds on his mother's mobile phone.  His father seeing this decided that Tony should go outside.  "A four year old playing video games!  That just won't do!" reasoned Tony's father.

Hearing from his father that they were to go outside, Tony initially was very upset.  He cried like a youngster would who was thinking he was being deprived of something.  "No go outside!  No go outside!" he screamed and pleaded at his father.  But he quickly changed his mind when his mother told him that he could ride his bicycle.  And he was out of the apartment before his father.

Tony lead his father to a public square near their apartment.  He told his father to sit down while he rode the square's wide spaces.

All of sudden, Tony came to where his father was sitting, saying "pa le!" and sat on his father's lap which was very uncharacteristic of him.  Tony's father then noticed that Tony had his ears plugged with his fingers.  Dad then understood that Tony had been saying he was scared  (pa le means I'm scared in Chinese), and that he wanted his father to protect him.  Tony had been scared by loud noises that were coming from a nearby construction site.  Dad knew that Tony was scared of Fireworks, of which there are lots in China, and told Tony that were no fireworks being let off.  Saying this satisfied Tony and he went back to his bicycle.