The grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings of boa constrictors, outside or inside, and apply myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar. That is why I abandoned, at the age of 6, a magnificent career as an artist. I had been discouraged by the failure of my drawing Number One and of my drawing Number Two. Grownups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again. (2)