I Wish I Was Still Too Little

         Hi!  I'm Tony.  I'm six years old. 

         This is my baby sister, Ruthie.  Ruthie is two years old.

         Ever since Ruthie was born, I've had to do everything.  It's just not fair.

         Whenever the trash needs emptied, who do Mom and Dad call?  TONY.

         One day I asked why Ruthie never had to empty the garbage.

         "She's still too little," they told me.

         "I wish that I was still too little," I grumbled as I made a mean face at Ruthie.  She just giggled and thought I was playing games with her.

         Whenever the table needs to be set for dinner, who does Mom call?  TONY.

         "Why can't Ruthie ever set the table?" I asked.

         "She's still too little," Mom said.

         "I wish I was still too little," I grouched as I stomped my foot and walked away.  Ruthie copied me and thought I was being funny.

         Who does Dad call when he needs help pulling weeds?  You guessed it...TONY!

         "Why doesn't Ruthie have to help?" I wondered.

         "She's still too little," Dad answered.

         "I wish I was still too little," I complained, crossing my arms and making an angry face at Ruthie.  She didn't see me.  Mom was reading her a story.

         Then one day, Mom was making frosting for a cake.  I always love to scrape the bowl when she's done. 

         I worried that Mom would give the bowl to Ruthie because Ruthie always gets to do all of the fun things and I have to do all of the yucky things.

         "Are you going to give the bowl to Ruthie?" I asked.

         "Oh, no," Mom laughed.  "She's still too little."

         Hey, for once Ruthie is too little to do something fun.

         "Would anyone like to go on the merry-go-round?" Dad asked one afternoon at the park.

         "Is Ruthie going to do it?" I questioned.  I knew we'd have to go slow if she came along.

         "Oh my, no,"  Dad answered.  "She's still too little."

         Maybe being bigger isn't so bad after all.

         "Who wants to play a game?" Dad asked after dinner.

         "Is Ruthie going to play?" I asked.  Ruthie always chews on her own toys so I knew she'd try to eat the game.

         "No," Dad shook his head.  "She's still too little for games."

         You know what?  I think I'm glad I'm not still too little!  Sure, I have to help Mom and Dad do work around the house, but there are a lot of fun things to do when you're bigger, too.

         "Don't worry, Ruthie," I say with a smile as Mom gets Ruthie ready for bed.  "Soon you'll be bigger too, and we can do fun things together."