Nighttime. A father sits on his young daughter’s bed. She is snuggled under the covers, blinking innocently. Soft light. Crickets chirp.
Father: All right, Sally, time for your bedtime story. Tonight’s is “The Tale of the Four Circles.” Are you listening, Sally? It’s a very important story.
Sally: Oh yes, Father, I’m listening!
Sally’s bright eyes widen to show she is listening. Her father smiles.
Father: Once upon a time there were four best friends—three circles and one triangle. One day, they decided to go on an adventure to find the powerful Emperor Wally T., for it was rumored that he could turn all shapes into circles.
Sally: Father, why does the triangle want to be a circle?
Father: Hush, Sally, all shapes want to be circles. Everyone knows that.
He pats Sally’s head. She is so young, so naïve.
Father: The circles and the triangle journeyed far across the land. They rolled up and down many hills and squeezed through many dark tunnels. All the circles rolled along easily, but the triangle struggled to keep up.
Sally: Oh no, poor triangle!
Father: You see? That’s why he wants to be a circle.
Sally: But, Father, why doesn’t Emperor Wally T. just change his kingdom instead? He could flatten the hills and widen the dark tunnels so all the shapes can move around!
Father, shaking his head: Sally, that’s not how it works. Do you have any idea how expensive and time-consuming that would be?
Sally: But he’s an emperor—
Sally’s father grabs a juice box from Sally’s bedside table and sticks the straw in her mouth.
Father: Hush, now, dear Sally, just listen to the story.
Sally sips juice indignantly. Her father takes a deep breath.
Father: Ahem, when the shapes finally found Emperor Wally T. at the end of a long, dark tunnel, he rewarded their courage. Wally T. took four shiny gold circles and stuck them on each of the shapes. He declared that they were all true circles, even the triangle. Everyone rejoiced. The end.
Sally spits out her straw.
Sally: But Father! The triangle’s not really a circle!
Father: No, Sally, it’s fine. Everyone has to call him a circle now, okay? The end! Yay!
Sally’s father hurriedly tucks the blankets around her and grabs the juice box.
Sally: But it’s still going to be harder for him to journey back over the hills and through the tunnels! Wally T. didn’t do his job right!
Her father squeezes the juice box nervously.
Father: Shhhh, it’s a happy ending, okay, Sally? Good night, darling.
He hurries out of the room, shaking juice off his hand. He wonders vaguely why he is sweating. Tomorrow he will tell her a better story—the one about the pink bird who gets 72 worms for every 100 worms the blue bird gets. Yes, there is nothing wrong with that one.