Jenny Armstrong's earliest memory is copyright © 2003 by Jenny Armstrong.

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My sister was lying in her pram, she must have been a few months old. I am eighteen months older than she is.

She was all alone in her bedroom, in a very tall pram, with springs and a metal crossover toward the wheels; the floor was buffed up shiny, red.

My mother came in and said, "look after your sister for me, because I'm going out for five minutes."

I said, "What shall I do?"

"She said, "If she cries, give her something to play with!"

Naturally, I took this command very seriously indeed. I watched over her intently, although I could not see up into the pram without my tiptoes.

I wondered what I should do to keep her happy. She burbled so I knew she was awake.

I looked around for toys, but there was nothing for her to play with. My mother had said, "give her something soft".

I found some butter in the fridge, and it was soft. I took the lid off and dropped the butter over the edge of the pram, for my little sister to play with.

Jenny Armstrong may be reached at scratchy@mail.dodo.net.au. Please take a moment to visit her website Unique African, which features her literary pieces, all of them quite impressive, on a variety of subjects.

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