"Climb into bed, Daddy," said my 3yr old last night. "We're gonna make up a story."

Love it. Although I've heard her wandering around the house making up stories, I've never actually been a part of one. We've finished watching Barbie Fairytopia movie, and have just read Cinderella pop-up book. I climb into bed.

The props for this story are to be 3 things:

• a small rubber orange doll I know to be Sunburst, who is from the Fairytopia series of movies but was not in the actual movie we saw last night, whose name shall be Fairytopia. (In the movie, Fairytopia is actually the name of the place they live, not a character name.)
• A rubber Jasmine doll (from Aladdin), dressed in what appears to be Cinderell's wedding gown. Her name shall be Azura (who is like the boss of the Fairytopia world).
• A length of white ribbon, which currently is wrapped in Sunburst/Fairytopia's hair.

In this case, Sunburst/Fairytopia and Jasmine/Azura are to be sisters. "How do we play?" I ask.

I wish I could do justice to the response I got, because it seemed so crystal clear in her head, but without a tape recorder there's no way I could get it all down accurately. Basically it went a little something like this, "We take turns trying on the ribbon to see if it fits, and then the prince marries us, and we have the happiness ending."

Since the ribbon is already in S/F's hair, I wrap it around like a turban and say, "How's this? Does it fit?"

"No, it doesn't fit Fairytopia," says my daughter, who begins pulling it off. "Now her sister Azura tries." Deftly she begins wrapping the doll, head to foot, in ribbon. "Nope, doesn't fit Azura either."

"My turn again," I say, and this time I tie the ribbon in a bow on top of my doll's head. "How's that?"

"Too big!" the director says.

I make a smaller bow. "Hurray," I tell her, hurrying up the game because it's getting late. "The ribbon fits, does that mean the game is over?"

"Not yet, Daddy!" she tells me as I climb out of bed and begin tucking her in. "They didn't have the happiness ending!"

Something clicks.

"Do you mean, and they all lived happily ever after?"

She beams. "Yes! And they all lived happily ever after! Good night, Daddy."