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Geez, we don’t know who this Jennifer...

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Geez, we don’t know who this Jennifer Brandt is, but she never would have seen the light of day around our house growing up.

Storytelling, Jennifer?

Tall tales?

We think we know how you got started, Jen’. You see, we’ve been there, too.

Does the following sound familiar? Once upon a time, about the age of 10, you were swinging a broom around your head inside the house despite past dire warnings from the folks. (For the record, ours said: “You’re gonna break something and then we’re gonna break your head.”)

In your case, perhaps it was mom’s dear, dear vase. Kaplow! A thousand pieces.

In our case, we took out dad’s heirloom humidor, spilling his prized cigars into a huge puddle of water on the living room floor. How did the water get there? That’s another story.

Hide the broom. Enter the adults, who are drawn to the sounds of mayhem like moths to a flame. They demand to know what happened.

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In our case, we devise an intricate little tale about how younger brother Tommy and his friends made a quick pit-stop into the house, felt a strong urge for a good cigar, then fought over who was gonna light up first. In the ensuing struggle, the humidor came crashing down. They beat a hasty retreat. We happened to be in our room, cleaning up after saying prayers, when we heard the crash and . . . well, here we are.

Tommy, they remind us, is away at camp.

We’re grounded for two weeks. And they tacked on another two weeks for “telling stories.”

In your case, you also lie. But beautifully. The story you devise is so poignant that you escape punishment.

A storyteller is born.

And here you are. About to tell tall tales of Ireland in honor of St. Patrick’s Day at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Children’s Book World, 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission is free. For information call (213) 559-2665.

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We just may drop in for the blarney, and watch a master at work.

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