Sometimes Peace Corps Washington does magical things, not the least of which is ensuring our safety, if not always our sanity. This year being the 50th anniversary of the PC, they’ve evidently solicited post cards from school children; and Burkina Faso was fortunate to receive many cards, including one very special card from a talented young lady named Sophia. She's ten!

Children were evidently instructed to write greetings on one side and draw pictures on the other. Each post card arrived with the 50th anniversary USPS commemorative PC postage stamp, naturally. Let me tell you, although all are charming, not all cards are equal . . . and such is life.

I’ve snagged the card from Sophia, which is so brilliant on both sides that there’s nothing to do but make a mobile and hang it from the ceiling so that I can enjoy every inch of it. Sophia's card (like your painting, Miss Abby) ensures my sanity . . . though I realize that's arguable. In any case, Sophia writes (and this is verbatim):

Hi. My name is Sophia! I live in the USA. I have 1 dog, 2 cats and a mouse. I love to read! I am 10 years old. I really enjoy drawing. Cats are 1 of the things I draw best. Violin is the instrument I play. What I really would not be able to play too well is acordian (I’m not sure that’s how you spell it). I am not too good at drawing people. Bye, Sophia.

Who is this child? Who, at age ten, can properly spell too? I ask you. Heck, I know 30-year-olds who can't. I am utterly enchanted. I picture her in six or seven years at Juilliard or the Sorbonne. No, of course this isn't her work. But I thought I'd toss in some nice images representative of her style.

Regrettably, what you are unable to see here are the four pencil illustrations, all brilliantly done, that Sophia sent to Burkina Faso. Her mouse is named Maple Sugar (cute, right?), and Sophia’s illustration includes a special notation that Maple Sugar is a blown-up image. Sophia is absolutely correct; and indeed, Maple Sugar's image is a bit large for a mouse, though perfectly to scale as he stands in a three-quarter profile, one little eye mischievously peering over his shoulder at her cats, Fiona and Yehudi. I bet she's cleverly, prodigiously, named Yehudi after the violinist, but that's just a guess.

Seriously, who is this child prodigy? Yehudi and Fiona are shown curled together in a ball. Brilliant. Her dog, Holob, is lying down; and Sophia notes that the image is sideways. I’ve shown this card to the best PCV illustrators whom I know and all agree that she’s a genius. And she's only ten!

I have news for you, Sophia: while you certainly draw cats extraordinarily well, your dog is equally fabulous. And don’t sell yourself short – I suspect that you also can draw people exceptionally well. On my next trip to Ouaga I’m going to scan this card and post it on this blog. It’s breath-taking. I want a mouse named Maple Sugar. I was so inspired that I tried to draw Jill-the-Pill on my kitchen blackboard, with poor results. Sorry, Jill.

I’m sure that Sophia’s family has many of her beautiful illustrations. But it would be so nice to return her card to them, all the way from Burkina Faso, as a permanent addition to her portfolio. Where can this next Mary Cassatt be found? Do you think Chaim Soutine entitled his painting, Rabbit with Forks, Sideways? Anyone out there know a little girl named Sophia with a mouse, 2 cats, and a dog? We can only speculate.