An English couple had tried for many years to have a child, and were finally successful. Since they had gotten on in years, they were willing to have several genetic tests done during the pregnancy. At a meeting with the obstetrician, following one of these tests, he sat them down to inform them that their child was German. The doctor said there was nothing to worry about – the child could grow up and lead an entirely normal life. Nothing was to be done but raise him as any other child and enjoy their time with him.

And, indeed, after he was born everything was fine. He wore lederhosen and had a bowl cut for a hairstyle, but other than for small peculiarities and habits of that nature, one couldn't
guess that there was anything wrong. Except for one nagging concern that grew more worrisome over time. The child never spoke.

Of course the parents grew increasingly concerned about his absence of speech. The pediatrican(s) always told them not to worry – You couldn't expect him to be a perfectly normal child, of course, but there was nothing was so terribly wrong that they should upset themselves over it. Years passed. The parents never stopped taking the child for consults, although these diminished in frequency over the years, and the parents accepted their child just as he was.

Then one day, at the age of seven, the boy walked out of the kitchen and said: "Mother, this tomato soup is tepid." Both parents stared in dumb-struck amazement. The mother said 'You can talk?" The child responded "of course." "But why have you never spoken for all of these years??" asked the father. The boy simply stated: "Because up until this point everything has been entirely satisfactory."