This reminds me of the "telephone game". Bert asks Ernie for a mop to clean up some spilled milk. Ernie asks another character who mishears his request and as each character asks the next for what they thought Bert needed, what Bert needs changes.
I love this book, and so does my special needs friend. When I read it to her I used names of people she knows in place of the Sesame Street characters (It makes reading books a little bit more personal) and she giggles like crazy. Which of course makes me smile.