Faerie Dragon usage

[Rannith]

I have just (two days ago) bought Munchkin and convinced my parents to play a couple of games and generally speaking we had a good time but one card came up with a radically different interpretation of the meaning. Now some information to lay a bit of foundation. My father is English and a pedant so he is insistant on the proper usage of grammar, syntax and punctuation. My mother was a publisher's proof reader in the days before autocorrect and spell checkers. The issue is that their interpretation of the wording on the card; "instead of fighting the Fairy Dragon you may discard a Treasure to have it join your side providing a +3 combat bonus." Indicates that by spending a treasure you can get the fairy dragon to join you as, effectively, a permanent ally not just for that combat. Is this the way this is supposed to work?