Are mermaids real?

So, tonight, while in the bath, my daughter, five, asks, “Daddy? Are mermaids real?” Now, I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t want to bust her bubble of belief in fantasy.

So I say, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen one, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t real – there are lots of things that I’ve never seen but that are real.”

“Like what, daddy?”

“Well, I’ve never seen a humpback whale, or a boa constrictor, or a grizzly bear. But they all exist.”

“Oh, OK then.”

Nothing like discussing philosophical issues with a five-year-old.

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