BFF, or, How two year olds make friends

I've often wondered how small children form "friendships." I have to conclude that all they can do (cognitively and emotionally) is look for in the other child what they already know about themselves. I read a study where very young babies will turn away from a child who is expressing anger or aggression but will turn towards other babies who are expressing fear or discomfort. It is these early experiences with empathy that stick with us. The good thing about my girls is that when another child shows up in the mix, as here, at snacktime, they don't blink, or worry about whose cup was whose, or who got the most bunnies. Their attitude already is, pull up a chair and have a nosh. I don't think you can ask for more out of people who still think that eating with their hands is the social norm.