Curiouser and Curiouser

DD-2 The Rattle

Ah, what's better than a good ol' sibling rivalry sometimes over the most trivial things. Write a short story or poem about such a squabble, and is the situation ever resolved? (<500 words) or (<40 lines)

we did dishes by hand--
she washed, I dried,
we squabbled:

whose turn it was,
whose hair was longer,
who was shorter,
who was wearing whose hair
ribbon, whose turn it was,
who splashed who,
who whapped who with a damp towel,
whose fault it was
that dish broke, who could scream
the loudest, the highest,
the most shrill, whose turn . . .

at this point, Daddy as deus ex mechina
appeared, and with thundering shouts
expressed his displeasure:
be quiet! you're sisters—act like it.
this is so (and here, he stomped a circle
around the room, one stomp per repetition)
stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!
and he was gone.

The kitchen was silent--
she washed, I dried,
but we weren't scared.
we were impressed by his silliness
and loudness
and stomping
and shouting
and dancing in a circle
and we giggled about everything,
periodically stopping the dishes
to stomp a circle around the room,
whispering in voices as loud
as bickering:
stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

line count: 36