The late Art Linkletter made a living just letting kids talk. His interviews with young children in the early days of TV, first on “House Party” and then on “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” made him a well-known TV personality.

I am no Art Linkletter, and that’s not why I judge 4-H projects at county fairs all around Indiana. I judge a variety of topics, including photography, crops, wildlife, forestry, entomology, gardening, flowers, even welding.

My favorite judging gigs are what they call open judging, where the judge interacts with the 4-H’er. After all, 4-H is about leadership development, and talking to people, even at an early age, is a great way to get your feet wet.

Here are some of my most interesting interactions, talking with 4-H’ers. Names are omitted to protect the truly innocent. Enjoy!

One big bug. Me: “Tell me which insect in this collection is your favorite?”

10-year -old: “Oh, it’s the big waterbug for sure.”

Me: “Why do you like it so much?”

10-year -old: “I had lots of them to choose from. I raise them myself to feed to my pet lizard. He loves them!”

OK, no comeback for that one!

Brutally honest. Me: “This looks like good wheat. What did you do to help with this project?”

10-year-old: “Oh, I borrowed the wheat.”

Me: “You borrowed it? How does that work?”

10-year -old: “Well, it’s my neighbor’s wheat — ours wasn’t cut yet. Dad said it was OK.”

I can’t make these up.

Times, and rules, have changed. Me: “My, I don’t get to judge oats very often. Do you guys always grow oats?”

12-year-old hesitates. Mom jumps in: “No, we just bought them at the elevator this morning. Are they OK?”

That’s when I look for the rules person. But when I get a “we don’t ask, we don’t tell,” shrug, well, I guess you can get your 4-H oats anywhere, at least in that county.

Down to the wire … brush, literally. An older 4-H’er got a buddy to help him unload his welding project. It was so heavy, the Extension people asked me to go over near the door to look at it. They didn’t want to drag it very far. It was a metal chair made from tubular steel with lots of good welds. I touched a few welds to check them out.

Me: “Wow, it isn’t hot enough to burn me, but it’s warm. When did you finish this?”

4-H’er: “Oh, not long ago.”

Then I check his sanding and wire brushing job, away from welds. “Man, this is still warm, too.”

4-H’er: “Yeah, well, not long ago is like, I worked on it until I had to leave the shop to get here. Welding and sanding take longer than you think.”

A little help. OK, maybe a lot of help. Me: “Young man, this poster looks very good. Did you do it yourself?”

10-year-old: “I did a lot, but I had some help.”

Me: “Who put this nice border on?”

10-year-old: “Grandma.”

Me: “Who found the pictures and put them on the poster?”

10-year-old: “Grandma.”

Me: “Who found these cute little bats?”

10-year-old: “Grandma.”

Me: “What did you do?”

10-year-old: “Oh, I glued some of the little bats on for decoration — except when I got too much glue on them.”

Me: “Then someone cleaned them up?”

10-year-old: “Yup — Grandma.”