This afternoon, Mercy came up to me while I stood at the sink washing dishes.  "Mommy, Liberty won't let me clean!" she tattled.

Naturally, I assumed she meant to say, "Liberty won't HELP me clean."  The two girls had been working on cleaning their bedroom all. day. long.  So I called into the other room, "Liberty, help your sister clean!"

"But Mom, I'm a goat!" she yelled back.

"Okay...be a goat who cleans," I responded.

"I AM cleaning!" she yelled back.

"She IS cleaning, Mom," Mercy still standing at my side confirmed.  I looked down at her, puzzled.  If Liberty was cleaning, then what was the tattling all about?

"Liberty won't let ME clean," Mercy reiterated.

"Oh."  Who knew that would ever be something Mercy complained about.  "Liberty!  Let your sister clean!"

"But Mo-om!  I'm a GOAT!"

"So?  Let your sister clean."

"But Mo-o-om!  I'm a goat who BUTTS!  If I see any people, I HAVE to butt them!" Liberty explained to me from her bedroom.

Mercy was nodding vigorously at my side, and my imagination quickly conjured up a picture of Mercy trying to walk into their bedroom and being butted by Liberty who was crawling around the room on her hands and knees with clothing hanging out of her mouth.  I smothered my laughter and tried to find a good solution.

"Uh, be a goat who butts everybody except Mercy."

"Okay!" Liberty happily agreed.

"Okay!" Mercy joyfully copy-catted before heading back to the goat-pen.

And now I'm a zoo-keeper.