"Once upon a time"

That's what she said today: "Once upon a time."

Ima: "Once upon a time" what?

HG: Once upon a time is the beginning of the story.

And she proceeded to make up a story, bit by bit:

HG: Once upon a time there was a scary monster. And he lived in a tree.

HG: And one day he fell out of the tree. He fell into a lake.

HG: He was very sad. He was a sad scary monster. In the lake.

Ima: So what did he do?

HG: There was a little girl. And she sat down next to the lake. And the scary monster sat down next to the lake.

HG: And they drank water. And they had a picnic.

HG: And the scary monster climbed back into his tree. And the little girl went back into her tree.

Ima: Did they live in the same tree?

HG: No. The scary monster lived in his tree, and the little girl lived in her tree, with Ima and Abba and Uncle.

Ima: And what happened next?

HG: The End!