Animal antics

One morning, I heard squeals and shouts from upstairs, while tending to some chores in the living room.

Soon L came down looking especially distraught, asking me to settle yet another sibling conflict.

"Um, mama, I was pretending to be a beaver, and..."

Trying not to giggle, I had to stop her there.

"Wait. Before you continue, let me get this straight: You were pretending to be a beaver?"

She saw the humor: "Hee, hee. Yes."

"OK. And then what happened?"

"I was pretending to be a beaver and then C brought a big box into our den and I told him to take it out because it was too crowded, but he didn't."

I thought for a moment about a creative solution. Nothing came to mind.

"Perhaps you should live in separate dens," I suggested.

"I think I need some nice time down here with you," she concluded. She dragged out paper and crayons.

Then C emerged wearing a cowboy hat, dragging two stuffed dogs. He offered a confession and a slightly different take on what happened.

"Mama. I was upstairs and I said 'No' to ti-ter. We bunny rabbits in a cage."

Perhaps this was an inter-species misunderstanding.