Twinklinka
by Janaki Sooriyarachchi,
Illustrations by: Janaki Sooriyarachchi
[http://www.tikiri.com/author.html]
Twinklinka
One day, not so
long ago, a special new doll
arrived at the toy shop.Fresh from the factory in
her very own box,
the dolls name was printed in
colorful, sparkly letters across the lid,
Twinklinka. Oh, isnt she
beautiful? The shopkeeper cried out, as he
opened the box. The sales
assistants all gathered around, excited at the
arrival of the new doll.
Yes, shes certainly gorgeous. Those
jewels on her dress and hair
twinkle like diamonds, said one sales assistant.
Yes, that must be
why shes named Twinklinka, said another. A
pretty little princess
would surely buy this beauty at any price. Yes,
yes. Im sure we can
put a very high price on her and sell with no
trouble, said the
shopkeeper.
The sales assistant took
Twinklinka out of the
box and placed her carefully on the best rack of
the shop. None of them
knew that the toy from this factory were able to
hear everything that
went on around them and talk to each other. So,
they had no idea that
Twinklinka was secretly listening to all they said.
Oh, am I really so
pretty? she wondered. Glancing around quickly, to
make sure no one was
looking, she stretched up on her toes and peered
into the large mirror
on the wall. She blinked in surprise at what she
saw. Is that really
me? She could not believe her eyes. What lovely
rosy pink cheeks I
have! And such deep blue eyes
and all those golden
curls! Just look at
my silk stockings and all the lace, pearls and
sparkles on my dress.
Can those be diamonds in my hair, twinkling like
stars?
And they said that a pretty little
princess would buy me. It sounds like someone
really special. Of
course Twinklinka had no idea what a princess
was, but she thought
that it would be someone very sweet and elegant,
like the lovely girls
she had seen in the picture books. She closed her
eyes and imagined.
Some day, a pretty little princess who has
beautiful golden curls,
rosy cheeks and blue eyes, will come into our shop
with her mother. She
will point at me right away, and say, Mum, can I
have this pretty
doll, please? Then her mother will say, Yes, of
course, my darling. And
the shopkeeper will take me down from the shelf and
hand me to the
little princess. And... ...she will take me home
wrapped lovingly in
her arms. And she will rock me and cuddle me like
her mother does her.
She will tell me wonderful stories and play with me
the whole day long.
All of her friends will say, How lucky you are to
have such a
beautiful doll! Twinklinka was lost in her dream.
Finally,
evening came, the lights were turned off, everyone
left and the shop
was closed up for the night. The other toys that
had come from the
magical factory all jumped off their shelves and
ran around excitedly,
happy to be free to play.
Nighttime was when
they were their merriest.
But today was
more special than usual, and everyone gathered
around Twinklinka, curious about the beautiful
newcomer.
"You are a very pretty doll.
Whats your name?"
"What beautiful eyes you
have!"
"Are these really diamonds on your
hair and dress, twinkling like stars?"
Twinklinka was showered with
questions.
In
the middle of all that, a grey Teddy bear in a
green waistcoat, who had
been on the third shelf, ran up to her. And he gave
the delicate doll
such a strong bear hug, that she almost lost her
breath.
W-welcome
to our toy shop! he blurted out in a sweet voice,
despite his gruff
looks. Oh
thank you! said Twinklinka, blushing a
deep shade of
crimson. There were very happy and bubbly soft toys
and dolls of many
nationalities. All the dolls, Teddy bears and
bunnies were indeed
dazzled by her loveliness. Every time someone
complimented her, she
smiled shyly, and her heart felt like it might
bounce right out of her
chest. Your
dress is very beautiful! Lilac, the French doll
exclaimed. The
Japanese doll, Atsuko, and the Sri Lankan doll,
Malithi, gaped at
Twinklinkas exquisite dress. Im sure a rich
young miss will buy you
very soon, the Indian doll Brindha said, trying to
have a closer look
at the twinkling things in her hair. But... she
should look like a
princess, Twinklinka whispered to herself.
The following
morning, all the toys were back on their shelves
and sitting still. A
pretty girl came in with her mother and ran
straight to Twinklinka.
Oh, Mum, this doll is very beautiful. Can I have
it please? she
pleaded.
No darling, I dont have enough
money to buy that
one, said her mother, looking at the price tag.
Im sure you can find
something less expensive. The little girls eyes
narrowed and her
happy smile became a pout. And when her mother
insisted, she took
Bianca, the Italian doll halfheartedly. Still she
didnt take her eyes
off Twinklinka, the one she really wanted, the most
beautiful doll in
the whole shop. Twinklinka felt very sorry for the
little girl. But she
knew she couldnt go with her, because she was not
the pretty little
princess in her dream.
Posted 13:09
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