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I read this short story somewhere between 2002 - 2010, but I remember the book I read it from was very old and tattered, so I think it was likely quite old when I read it.

The child asks the robot to give it milk and play chess at the same time, but the robot is designed for single tasks only. Then the child cries and tells her mom that the robot hit her. When the mom calls to complain, the support person tells her about the three laws of robotics, and why it's impossible that the robot hit her. The support guy offers some other robot and the story ends there.

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  • Do you remember how long ago a long time ago is? Was it new then? Do you know anything else about this story? Any other plot elements, character descriptions, the outcome of the story? And if this is a short story can you add the [short-stories] tag? It helps catalogue questions.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 12:34
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    This is basically the entire story I think. The support guy offers some other robot and the story ends there. Not much else I can remember. I don't remember exactly when I read it, but I sort of remember the book from which I read it being old and tattered, so I don't think the year I read it matters.
    – ColonD
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 12:44
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    Years matter because it helps track down the story, searching by date periods is very helpful. You can edit this into the question.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 12:46
  • The Three Laws of Robotics? Do you remember if it was an Asimov story? (It does sound very Asimovy).
    – SQB
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 13:21
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    It is similar to Robbie by Asimov but doesn't match most of your description.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 13:24

1 Answer 1

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Not limiting the search to Asimov, but Asimov's "Christmas Without Rodney comes closer, with some of the points matching.

It's a sterotypically obnoxious little boy, rather than a girl, who orders the host family's robot about while calling it "Stinkface", and who kicks it.

Not over milk and playing chess, even simultaneously. The robot is very old, but simultaneous requests were not the problem in this story. (iirc)

Other stories come to mind that have children kicking robots, but they don't specifically refer back to the Three Laws of Robotics as this one does.

The little snot-nose does lie that the robot hit or kicked him. But the visiting relatives, parents of the boy and also obnoxious, have brought their much more modern robot on the visit.

They ask it as a witness if the other, old robot hit or kicked the child. (In case the older one malfunctioned, perhaps.)

It can not lie, and accurately describes that the little snot-nose did indeed kick the robot, and the robot did not do any action of assault.

The robot and the people are all acutely aware of, and mention, the Three Laws.

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