I didn’t do it. There were so many other things to do. You see, the sky was very blue and the sun was very yellow. I had to run and chase the lions in the bushes. They would have gotten in the house if I hadn’t kept them at bay; mama wouldn’t like that at all. Last time, there were some alligator monsters and they got in and they tracked dirt all over the floor and they knocked over a vase. Mam’s favorite vase too. It’s always her favorite when it’s broken. She was mad. She practically breathed fire, her nose was smoking, I’ve never seen her so mad hardly ever. Except this one time. It was spring see and a skipped out of school. I had to; it was all flowered and lovely. Miss Paul couldn’t say my name anyway; she’d say THEE-oh. Besides I was working, I wasn’t even being bad. I was reading, or I had a book with me anyway. She was so mad she really did breath fire. It came out her big ol’ nose.

So anyway, the reason I didn’t do my homework was I was busy with the lions. Audrey can’t hold them off forever. She’s very small see. She’s gotten a bit bigger now I guess, she can walk and all that. She still isn’t good at playing much though. She goes outside and eats dirt and leaves and stuff. I guess that’s what little girls do. Audrey isn’t bad for a girl though. When I was little, my neighbors were two girls when I was about six, they used to come over and they’d put this horrible make up stuff on me, from their little Barbie compacts and then they’d tie scarves around my hands and take me prisoner and make me play dress up. Audrey isn’t crazy like that. Audrey just has these tea parties, she asks me to go sometimes and I do. But I wouldn’t if she was some girl in my grade or something. She’s my little sister so it’s ok and I love her and all. Anyway, she’s usually wearing some big hat and tons of mama’s jewelry and she has all her toys out and all and we drink juice, not tea though she doesn’t like that, out of her little cups. They have some character on them, Madeline I think. Anyway she’s real good about it and she doesn’t make me wear a hat or anything. I come as a pirate sometimes and we have a pirate tea party.

It wasn’t a pirate tea party yesterday though, it was the lions had joined forces with tigers and devils and we had to fight them all off. I gave Audrey my dagger, it’s wooden so it won’ hurt her, but it’s real good on tigers, and we had a nice battle even though she’s not very good and fighting. She’s good at other stuff though. Anyway, then we had to go to dinner and my mam was mad cuz we were all dirty and we have to take a bath and then I was very tired and I only had time to check to make sure there were no boogey men or vampires around anywhere. I looked in Audrey’s closet because I’m not afraid of them but she’s small so anything could happen. There were no werewolves because it wasn’t the full moon.