Monday, July 26, 2010

Of Lost Slippers and Monions

My daughters, like many their age, are fond of princesses.  They own many tiny princess dolls, dress up in princess costumes, and play various "princess games" of their own creation.  Here are two of the most recurrent and my favorites: 

Cinderella ~ This game goes something like this: One girl is Cinderella and one is the Prince.  Cinderella arrives wearing some kind of (preferably heeled) fancy shoes.  The Prince takes Cinderella's hand and the two dance to some kind of music.  Then, they often take a seat together and look like an awkward new couple—they do not speak.  Suddenly, Cinderella remembers the time!  Both her hands fly to her cheeks (think Home Alone).  "I must go!" she cries.  ("Go" is said with some sort of mock British accent.)  The Prince is horrified.  "No!  Don't go!" (Both "no" and "go" are said with similar mock British accent.)  Cinderella stands and rushes away, struggling to kick off a shoe in the process.  Once succeeding, away she runs with the remaining shoe.  The deserted Prince retrieves the shoe and either looks off wistfully or runs to find his love.  The girls then switch roles, exchange shoes, and begin again.     

Snow White ~ For this game, some kind of apple or apple-stand-in is required.  Their are long and short versions of this game, but it generally goes like this: One girl is the Witch and one is presumably Snow White, although her identity is apparently determined by the apple, as you will see.  The Witch offers Snow White an apple and says, "Try it!"  Normally, Snow White takes a bite and then falls down dead (or, I suppose, asleep).  Then, I think the girl playing the Witch takes on the role of the Prince, who kisses Snow White.  The princess pops back up with a ridiculously large smile on her face.  Switch and repeat.

The other version of this game begins in similar fashion.  The Witch offers Snow White an apple.  "Try it!" she begs.  Snow White takes a bite, but instead of falling asleep, she declares, "I like it!"  The Witch cackles, "Then you are my monion!" (We've tried telling Maggie that the word is "minion" but she'll have none of it.)  Once again, they switch roles and do it again.

I can't get enough of watching these!

5 comments:

  1. LOL! Don't you love what they cook up?

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  2. That sounds so fun! I hope you can get these on video.

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  3. LOL their alternative ending to Snow White is hysterical! I remember once taking a class (an after school program type class in grade school) called "Fractured Fairytales." Often this meant rewriting the endings. It's a testament to their creativity that they're doing this sort of thing at such a young age. :)

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  4. That's great. Just wait until baby John is old enough to "play". Here's a conversation I often hear between Josie and my niece: I'm Cinderella. I'm Belle. Silas is the prince. NO, Silas is the beast. NO, SILAS IS THE PRINCE!!! NOOOOOOOOO! HE'S THE BEAST!!! What will they do when he gets old enough to decide for himself?

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  5. Lynn, they've already declared John "the prince"——even though all he does at this point is lie there. :) Susannah hasn't started claiming him as her own yet, but I know it will happen!

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