Off the Cuff

How many times have you said, "Once upon a time..." and made up a story right then? I enjoy doing this occasionally. The result is often silly, usually to make a point, and always ends with the room exploding with laughter. My most recent creation:

"Once upon another time, there were children in Ethiopia who were starving because there was a war in their country. So the mothers in the United States threatened to send their children's dinners and desserts to the children in Ethiopia if their children refused to eat. Because of course you know that what the children in Ethiopia needed was dessert."

The finicky eater who was forced to be the audience of this story was my youngest sister, Tory. She was refusing to eat a slice of potato out of the Yankee Pot Roast our mother had made. For God only knows what reason, she decided that the potatoes were icky. After the story, she ate half of it.

So, spontaneously combusted stories. Discuss.