Alice Vishnevskaya was a kind, but a little selfish girl. She also always wanted to have the best of everything. As Alice thought, the best should also be the most expensive. At the same time, her older brother Ilya was quite different - very calm and modest, he knew how to be content with little since childhood. And by the way, their parents were not rich either. But, of course, like any loving parents, they never missed an opportunity to pamper their children. And if Ilya rarely asked for anything, Alice never missed an opportunity to ask for a new toy, an outfit or something else.
Everything changed before Alice turned eight years old. That New Year's Eve, she and her brother sent a letter to their grandmother, and they started waiting for presents from her. Especially Alice.
When the answer came, it turned out that Ilya (who didn't ask for anything in particular) got a sweater, and Alice, who asked for a doll, got the ordered toy, but... it turned out to be homemade. And Alice was very unhappy about it. Her parents were terribly angry with her. They shouted that Alice was a shameless and ungrateful girl who did not appreciate what her grandmother did for her. Ilya was not happy about his sister's behavior either, but he did not shout at her, but said:
- And I recently heard the story of the little girl Hannah, whose letter to Santa Claus sat in the fireplace for a hundred years.
- How old was she? - Alice asked.
- Eleven, a little older than me. I don't know what kind of family she was from, but she certainly wasn't rich. You want to know what she asked for?
- What?
- A gold penny, a silver sixpence, a hooded cloak, gloves, a baby doll, a frosted apple, and some kind of long candy - toffee - I don't know what it is, probably toffee of some kind.
- See, that Hannah wanted a doll too," Alice said.
- Alice! This letter is over a hundred years old! Do you have any idea what toys were like back then? That's first of all. Secondly, Hannah probably didn't have many toys, and it's good if this doll (if she got it, of course) wasn't the only one at all. And third, tell me: do you know anyone who was given a homemade toy or doll by her grandmother?
Alice thought for a moment, and replied:
- Some grandmothers knit clothes, hats, sweaters or something else, Vasilisa's grandmother knitted a vest. But there are no toys or dolls, no one sewed or knitted them.
- You see. And then, look how beautiful she is.
- Yes..." Alice looked at the doll thoughtfully.
- Even I like it. Besides, grandma doesn't give you anything. Especially not to you.
And I must say, Alice really loved her new doll. And she realized that she didn't need to demand new toys all the time.
The end