Sideways

Once there was a girl who refused to sleep in her crib. Her parents interpreted her disdain to mean she felt confined. She slept on an air mattress on the floor for weeks until the day they capitulated and bought her a Big Girl Bed.

The girl loved her bed.

(Though, much to her parents' chagrin, she still often refused to sleep.)

One day, the girl realized that a bigger bed meant more room for animals. Each night she invited more animals to sleep with her. Eventually, they filled the top of the bed.

So the girl decided to sleep sideways.

"Maybe it's time to move some animals out of your bed," her parents weakly suggested.

No! I need my kids with me so they're not scared, she said.

And so it was that the Big Girl took up the habit of sleeping in a space smaller than a crib.