"Mom, you have to tell them I'm a girl. You're not going to be able to hide that from people forever."
"Hush, my child," crooned her mother. "I want you to be powerful and no one will follow a female, for any reason. I want you to have a better life than washing clothes, going to the well, and making dinner. You don't want to be shoved into a corner for your entire life, do you? I'm just trying to help you."
"But I don't want to be a boy."
"You have no choice, the guys on camels were already here. They gave you gifts and they believe you're a boy. They're going to tell everyone."
"Do you have any idea how this is going to screw up my reality, my self-image?"
"It won't do any of those things if you just believe you're a boy."
"I want my name to be Lucy."
"No."
"It's almost Yule, a pagan holiday that's a lot of fun. I want to go to a party."
"It will be called Christmas from now on, it's going to be your birthday. No parties."
"How can it be my birthday when I'm already here?"
"Details, my darling. Men want to kill the pagans and their holidays but since they can't do that, they are just renaming everything and taking over."
"That's not fair."
"Nothing is fair."
"I want to dress up as a princess for Halloween and go trick or treating."
"There's no such thing as Halloween, or trick or treating, and you're a prince, not a princess. There's going to be a lot of statues of you later and you'll look like a nice man."
"I want to wear a dress."
"We all want a lot of things, but we don't ever get them, do we. I mean Joe is a lot older than I am and here I am, aren't I. Long ride on a poor mule, who did nothing to deserve walking all that way, with me on his back. All that straw, no midwife. We get what we get, you may as well learn that now."
"I want to be a girl carpenter and build things. Really cool things."
"OMG! Oh, no pun intended," she snickered. "You will be a special person, whether you like it or not, so you may as well get used to the idea."
"I wish I was never born."
"I'm not all that happy about it either, but here we are. And trust me when I say neither of our lives are going to be easy."
"Mother's aren't supposed to say things like that to their children."
"A lot of them think it."
"I don't believe you."
"Think about fishes and loaves."
"What?"
"Practice turning water into wine."
"Who can do that?"
"You. Later in life, of course, but you can do that."
"What about the fishes?"
"You'll see."
"Can I be a ballerina?"
"What do you think?"
"Call me Hey Zeus."
"Close enough," she said. "I can do that."
"What's frankencense?"
"Room freshener."
"And myrrh?"
"Not sure."
"No one brought me dolls or stuffed animals?"
"No. But there was a sheep next to me when you were born. Her name was Elizabeth and she was very nice and wooly."
"Can I keep her?"
"Probably not. You're going to be traveling a bit and she's happy where she is."
"I want a tutu."
"You're going to wear sandals and an itchy tunic thing."
"Will I have any say in what happens to me?"
"No, but you'll have a near death experience that might give you insights into what's going on."
"When?"
"Later. Don't worry about it."
"Will you call me Lucy when we're alone?"
"If that makes you happy."
"Thanks, mom."
"Sure."
"One doll?"
"No."
"Made of this straw?"
"Only if you hide it when we have visitors."
"Can I have a truck?"
"What's a truck?"
"Never mind."
"Anymore question, son?"
"No."
"Good. Now eat your lunch and try to look more like a boy."
"Are you sure I can't keep Elizabeth?"
"Positive."
"What can I have?"
"Nothing, unless you count the billions of people who will worship you, so men can get fat and rich on the stories they'll tell."
"I'd rather have the sheep."
"So would I, now eat, then you can take a nap and Elizabeth can sing to you."
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