ROBOT-BOT-BOT

In one of Krahn's less imaginative stories in pictures, a father brings home a robot which satisfactorily performs the household chores while the parents stand by happily at the controls. Then the little girl bollixes the works and the robot gets out of control. Dad's solution? Re-program the thing to play ping-pong with the little girl, which takes care of both of them while the parents stand by happily, drink in hand. This isn't much more than a joke for parents, who should recognize the device as a toy all along. But it's disappointingly mechanical, without the inventive foolery that gives other Krahns their staying power.