Once Upon A Time Part Deux

This entry is a sequel to another entry I wrote about a year ago.

Sitting at the foot of their beds, I begin: "Once upon a time, in the..."

"Great Ab-and-Anne forest," Annie says.

"...there was a big, pink castle! And inside it were..."

"Two bootiful pincesses," Abby says.

"That's right," I say. "Princess..."

"Annie," she says.

"And princess..."

"Abby!" she says, squealing.

"And together they ruled the kingdom, and everyone loved them."

And then, the story begins.

Princess Annie Stories, as they're commonly referred to, are lauded stuff in the house. The kids are always excited to hear them and I'm happy to tell them. The stories have become a little more complex with Abby in the picture, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Here is a list of the cast of characters from this crazy fantasy place, as I think they're both funny and interesting.

Pinky the Dragon - Annie's go-to friend who lives on top of the castle. Spends most of her time flying Annie to wherever her nemsis happens to be. Gets kidnapped/captured/hurt a lot.

Dark Mountain - The place where The Evil Wizard lives. Big castle on top. Brooding music. Lightning strikes. Thunder. Etc.

The Evil Wizard - The latest villain. He does nasty things with Magic and locks up Annie and Abby on a regular basis in his dungeon. Hijinks ensue.

The Mean Witch - Lives in the Great Ab-and-Anne Forest in a cottage somewhere. Is usually trying to get Annie and/or Abby into her soup cauldron. Hasn't succeeded to date.

Dr. Doolittle - Helps Annie in regards to anything Forest-y (i.e. animals, finding her way out of the forest when she gets lost, etc)

King Daddy, Queen Mommy - Pretty self-explanatory.

Harry Potter - Is Annie's favorite hero, so he comes around quite often. She's also been known to call him on her princess cell phone in order to get advice or ask for assistance.

Sportacus - The hero of Lazy Town is best used for his zeppelin--it transports the princesses (and their friends) where ever they need to go. When Pinky is out of commision, Sportacus picks up the reins.

Swiper the Fox - Swiper is from Dora the Explorer and has been known to take many things from the castle and Annie depending on the situation. The tale of him taking the fuse from the fusebox (it's all old school in the castle) has been told a few times. Dark castle = bad times.

The stories vary from Annie or Abby getting lost, abducted, or one of their friends being hurt or needing medicine. Sometimes there's crystal balls or evil spells or shady characters. Shapechangers and spellshapers and evil-doers all get their comeuppance in the end.

Annie and Abby always have their wands at the ready when, at the end of the story, it's time to banish the evildoer to Azkaban prison. "Abra..." I begin, "Cadabra!" they shout back.

It's not incredibly inventive, and it's not breaking any storytelling records, but Annie and Abby love it, and it's a pure parental thing that I can do for my kids on a daily basis.

Nothing wrong with that.

I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine