Reverse Cinderella

Most children fantasize about fairy tales. A handsome prince sweeps in to take you away from your dreary life. A fairy comes and reveals that the girl in rags is really a princess. This is the stuff of little girls' dreams.

What do you dream about if you are already living in a fairy tale? If my little "child of privilege" is any indication, you dream about being the one in rags.

Caroline and her friend Faith have a variety of make-believe games that they play. They almost never play Princess. Instead they play one of the following games:

• Slave (They are little slave girls who must tend to the sheep in the fields. Periodically, a bad master comes in and beats them.)
• Orphans (They are little orphan girls who must scavenge for food and shelter.)
• Indians (They are American Indians, living off the land, and avoiding the White Man.)
• Poor People (self explanatory)

They never get "rescued" from these situation. It is the act of pretending to be oppressed and impoverished that interests them.

To be fair, they are also fond of "Wicked Sisters" -- a game in which they are wicked princesses who do bad things like put all the puppies in jail.

It's a pretty sweet life when the only poverty or oppression you experience is make-believe.