The Weight of a Kingdom
The glorious burden and privilege of every father.
My daughter used to own a tea set made of molded plastic. Included was a small, pink plate. One night, after digging under the couch for a few seconds, she pulled this pink plate from under the darkness and held it out in triumph.
One of our dogs promptly relieved her of the plate and trotted away with it hanging from his mouth. She was confused but not upset. She waddled over to the dog, wearing a curious expression.
I took the plate from the dog's mouth and gave it to its rightful owner...who then put the thing in her own mouth and raced off, with a look back, hoping the dog would take chase.
That was pretty much the highlight of the night up to that point. My daughter's desire to do what the dog did and see how it worked out caused a bundle of laughter.
It also scared the crap out of me.