Belle and Ariel save the day

Julia and I just played a riveting pretend game with her princess dolls. She was Belle and Jasmine, and I got to be Ariel. I was a miserable failure as Ariel and needed constant reprimands and corrections from Julia on what to say (and not to say) as the game unfolded. Here's the exciting story of Belle and Ariel and their baby-sitter turned mother turned baby-sitter Jasmine:

JULIA: Okay, we have to bring them to the park and the park is the top of the couch.
ME: Okay, hang on one second while I help Madeleine.
JULIA: But come on, Mommy, we have to sing at the park and they're singing "Rat tat tat, clap clap clap."
ME: Okay, let's sing. (taking Ariel and dancing her around) Rat tat tat, clap clap clap!
JULIA: Noooo, you have to bring her to the park! The park is on top of the couch!
ME: Oh, okay, sorry. (Putting Ariel on the top of the couch) Rat tat tat, clap clap clap.
JULIA: Nooooo, Mommy! You have to really clap!
ME: Oh, okay. Rat tat tat (clapping my hands)
JULIA: No, you have to make THEM clap!
ME: (clapping Ariel's cloth hands together) Rat tat tat!
JULIA: (exapserated) No, you have to do it like this: (clapping Belle's hands together) Rat tat tat, clap clap clap.
ME: (imitating Belle with Ariel.)
JULIA: Okay, Mommy, now Jasmine is the evil mother, and she's going to put a spell on them!
ME: Oh no, hurry, let's escape before she puts a spell on us! (Diving Ariel off the couch into make-pretend water.)
JULIA: No Mommy! You don't do that! They have to talk to their evil mother.
ME: Okay.
JULIA: (holding up Jasmine) Girls, it's time to go to sleep.
ME: (laying Ariel down on the couch.) Good-night.
JULIA: (holding up Jasmine again) Now it's time to wake up!
ME: No, I don't want to wake up, I'm still tired!
JULIA: No, no, Mommy, that's not what you say!
ME: Okay, what do I say?
JULIA: Well, you have to go to the park where there's a spell that will make you fall asleep.
ME: I don't want to fall asleep, evil mother!
JULIA: No, Mommy, they have to go to the park and find the bell that chimes, and when the bell chimes then the evil mother will turn back into the baby-sitter because she was the baby-sitter before.
ME: Oh, okay.
JULIA: So come on, Ariel, let's go to the park!
ME: Okay!
JULIA: No, Mommy, the park is the top of the couch.
ME: Oh, yeah. (putting Ariel up there.)
JULIA: Now we fall asleep.
ME: (laying Ariel face down.)
JULIA: Wake up! Let's clean up the park!
ME: Okay! (singing) Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up...
JULIA: No! Mommy, we're not singing that song!
ME: Oh, okay. (singing) Let's clean up, let's clean up, come on everybody, let's clean up...
JULIA: Okay, the park is all clean. And look, we found the bell! We have to make it chime!
ME: (singing) Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong
JULIA: Okay! The evil mother turned back into the baby-sitter!
ME: Hooray! We got rid of the evil mother!
JULIA: (running off) Uh, Daddy, it's time for me to take my bath now.

I guess she was getting as tired of the game as I was.