In my days of climbing trees, jumping off playhouse roofs, and mothering kittens, I was considered a "little monster" as my dad liked to call me. "Stay out of trouble now," my father would give me a nervous grin which said "I mean it." But of course I couldn't. Sneaking, breaking stuff, stealing, ranting, was in my blood!

Mischievous things I committed were sneaking into my older sister, Amanda's bedroom which she shared with our baby sister, Mikiah. I would sneak in and sleep with them. They were hard sleepers and, yet, light sleepers. One wrong move, I was dead. It takes a master, like myself, to get into the bed of those witches. You have to be sleek, quiet, and most of all, brave! It was literally genius when I figured out that in order to get into the bed, I had to start at the end and work my way up like a snake. I always had to be in the middle, sandwiched by Amanda and Mikiah. It made my heart leap at my sinister plan! It was just too good to be true! Since I was meager to Amanda, she'd think I was Mikiah. I was bigger than Mikiah, she would mistake my body for Amanda's!

All day I bided for nightfall. After dinner, Mama told me to get ready for bed. I willingly did so. When my mother asked me, "Why do you seem so excited to go to bed tonight, Brie Brie?" I was so tempted to say, "Cause I know something you don't know!" Instead I just said that inside my head and gave her a collso smile. I anticipated acting on my plan in my bed; waiting for the house to get caliginous and quiet, and to start my expedition to my sister's room.

Without warning, the house was silent. It was time. I roused from my bedstead. The narrator's voice suddenly kicked inside my head, The great knight Brielle emerged from the shadows, volunteering to go into the Big Woods on a mission for her king. Either it was to go into the woods or die. Die with honor or come back with honor. She swiftly ran along the trail, my head sang. My blanket was my cape, sheltering me, making me invisible from predators. A full moon shined through the kitchen window as I crossed. I made my way into the hallway, and finally, my journey had come to its end.

I turned the cold door knob and pushed open the door to the great fortress. The door creaked loudly, but not a sound stirred from inside. I used my snake body skills to get into bed. I wriggled in between my siblings. Then I let out a breath of relief. I closed my heavy eyes to sleep, but first, I was going to drink from my surroundings. I turned over on my right side to observe Mikiah. But... something was terribly wrong. Mikiah looked bigger, rounder, definitely not a child sized lump. Amanda? Nope, Mikiah always slept by the wall, because she was afraid of monsters under the bed. I turned over on my left side. I couldn't really see Amanda's face very well, but what I could make out wasn't very pretty. So I concluded I needed to touch to see what I was dealing with... My little hands pressed against her face. Rubbing my palms up and down the cheeks, I thought, This is odd... I don't remember Amanda's face being saggy... wrinkly...so..so..old.  Then, suddenly, big, strong hands grabbed my wrist. I yelped in surprise. I had been caught...but by who? I wrestled free and scrambled to the entrance of the room. I tried opening the door but I had locked it on my way in. My hands fumbled for the lock...I took anxious looks at the figure in the bed, moving uneasily. My eyes finally adjusted into the blackness in the room. The figure was not Amanda nor was the other figure Mikiah. They were my great great elderly cousins, who were sleeping in my "bed", well, my sister's bed! But still, this was an outrage! A complete scandal!

My cousin, who was blind without his glasses, reached out in the darkness, howling, "Come here, Whippersnapper!" he sat up and growled, "Where are you?" his plump wife murmured something under her breath about "noisiness" and "never getting sleep." I finally got the latch, and slammed the door and sprinted down the hall, not bothering to look for my siblings. I plummeted in my bed, covering my head in my covers, and did not arise till the sun emerged from the hills.

I dragged my feet up the stairs, dreading seeing my 80-year-old cousins. I slipped into my seat for breakfast and murmured a good morning. Sitting across from me, was the old man who nearly caught me. He glared holes right into my soul. But to my surprise, he didn't say anything about last night!

I still had my secret identity! And the great knight inside of me learned a lesson. A lesson I will always remember: Always... always... check who's in the bed before you decide to hop in.