The Art of the Short Story (According to a 3 Yr. Old)

My daughter's bedtime routine consists of the following: her listening to a book on tape, then me reading several books to her, followed by my breathtaking singing of (IN THIS ORDER OR IT DOESN'T COUNT) "Rockabye Baby", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and "Lullaby and Good Night". Every now and again there might be a temporary break in the routine with outbursts of song and dance. While these are often fun and amusing they are not usually welcome, because as I have to regularly be reminded bedtime is a time for winding down. Tonight there was a spontaneous break in the routine, one that I hope can work its way into the regular routine. I guess one could refer to it as the story writing segment. It all started after I finished reading the last book for the night. As I was readying my "unique and soothing baritone voice", my little one said that she wanted to tell me stories, so she told me one. Fortunately, it was short enough for me to recall and I quickly grabbed a pen and a note pad to jot it down.

"Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who lived far, far away. And they got stuck in a hole and couldn't get out. So, we pulled them out and we ran away together. The End."

I raved over the beauty of such good storytelling, only to find that she was just getting warmed up. So, this time the scribe was ready for dictation.

"Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen who lived in a castle. They were flying to our house and we found daisies. And then we ran away. And then a dog came by and tried to run off with us, so we ran home. The End."

(One may wonder if the participants in this story were tripping on psychedelic mushrooms and became paranoid that the police were coming for them. But, frankly I have no idea, I'm just the scribe. All potential interpretations are up to the reader and all questions as to the writers inspiration are unknown to the scribe).

And the grand finale (only because the scribe said it had to be): "Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who lived in a castle. But, they couldn't get down, so we had to help them get down. And then a dog didn't come by. And then daisies were growing and our house came to the woods. The End."

I am so relieved to live in a time that is post pre-history. What if we had lived when there were no written records? What if such stories were told as oral tradition, and were susceptible to being lost? What if I lacked the ability to record such masterpieces and future generations could not benefit from the knowledge and wisdom that resides in these stories? I can only hope and pray that if a cataclysmic catastrophe wipes out large segments of the world's population these pieces of literature can be preserved. Seriously, I hope that her willingness to express herself through writing only grows and expands with each passing year.