The little manipulator...

[elfs]

Kouryou-chan is seriously learning how to push buttons. She's hit 3½ and she's doing everything she can with the mind she's been given. Her latest tacks include, "Mommy let me do it," when I tell her she's not allowed to do something, "But I really love you" when she's trying to defuse a battle of wills she knows she's likely to lose, and, of course, "I don't know" to the question, "Who did this?" She's even tried, "Yamaarshi gave it to me!" when Yamaarashi-chan isn't home.

Julian Jaynes once said that the planning and execution of long-term deception was one of the hallmarks of consciousness. Kouryou-chan is showing all the signs.