What's the difference between a bedtime story and a toddler's negotiation strategy?

You start with Goodnight Moon. Sweet, simple, thirty pages max.

Then comes the water request. The blanket adjustment. The shadow on the wall that's "definitely a monster." The sudden urgent need to discuss dinosaurs.

Punchline

One takes five minutes. The other takes until you're reading by phone flashlight because you gave up and joined them in bed.