Theme: Friendship, happiness

The gift

One day, Ivone's mother came home with a box and called her daughter saying that she had brought her a gift.

The girl, happy with the unexpected surprise, took the box and saw that inside there were seven small vases of flowers. The vases were all the same, beautiful, well decorated. But the flowers were different. Each one in a different color, forming a beautiful set.

Ivone loved the gift. Her mother taught her how to take care of the delicate flowers. They chose to place the vases next to the living room window so they could receive plenty of light.

The girl watered each pot carefully and then watched the flowers, looking at the colors of the petals and smelling their perfume.

Ivone had a very special friend, Sofia. They studied in the same class and lived on the same street. When they met, Ivone showed the news and Sofia also found the little flowers charming.

- How cute! I loved these flowers! They are beautiful, especially the red ones. It was quite a gift your mother gave you - Sofia said happily.

The days passed, Ivone continued to admire and care for her pots, which continued to be beautiful. But soon Ivone found out that her friend was sick, with chicken pox, and that was why she couldn't leave the house.

Ivone went to Sofia's house, but her mother explained that she couldn't go in to avoid the risk of catching chicken pox too. The friends were only able to see each other and exchange a few words through the glass in Sofia's bedroom window.

Ivone found Sofia looking very haggard, with her face full of spots. In addition to feeling unwell from the illness, she also seemed sad about not being able to go out and play.

Walking back to her house, Ivone thought of some way to cheer up her friend. She then had a good idea and the next day she took her little vase with red flowers to give Sofia a gift.

Through the window, Ivone could see Sofia holding the vase with a big smile and jumping up and down with joy. Ivone was also very happy and realized that she had achieved what she wanted: to make her friend happy and show her how much she cared about her.

When Ivone looked at her six little vases in the window, she remembered the one with red flowers, which was so beautiful and was no longer there. But that didn't make her sad, on the contrary.

Receiving a gift is great, but being able to make someone happy is even better.

(Adapted from the story “The Flowers of Joy”.)

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com