Capri's Magical Shoebox

Once there lived a little girl named Capri. She lived in a small village near the wharf. For hours she would watch the boats on the bay, docked at the wharf, being loaded and unloaded with boxes of all shapes and sizes. She wondered what could be sailing in and out of the dock in those quizzical treasure chests.

She played guessing games with her friends. “What do you think is inside this pile?” “Where does it go and from where has it come?”

One night she dreamed of a magical shoe box full of sparkling, glowing shoes. Each night she fell asleep the magical box would appear before her. She opened it each time and each time removed a different pair of shoes.

The first was a pair of running shoes. They were blue and gray and made of soft velvet. She laughed with delight while tying them up. Then she took off down the pier running and running faster than she ever had before. Every one along the way stopped to turn at the whirl of blue and gray as she whizzed by. Some folks called out to her, “Where are you off to, little Capri?” But she didn’t stop to answer. She ran to the docks to find what was inside the mysterious cargo.

She tore open box after box only to find layers and layers of blue and gray velvet. “Humh”, she puzzled. What a coincidence”. Morning came and she awoke from her dream but didn’t forget those running shoes. The next night she fell asleep and again the box appeared before her. Excitedly she opened it and removed a pair of pink ballet slippers. They were misty pink with long satin ribbons.

She tied them up carefully and instantly began an enchanted, fanciful ballet. She twirled until she came upon the docks. She found box after box of satin and lace and wondered, “Humh”, another coincidence. The next night she sat by the window gazing at the docks. Her dreams revealed the contents of the boxes to be more of what she already possessed. How could this be and what could this mean. The next night she dreamed of the magical box and opened it just as before. This time she removed a pair of silver ice skates. She skated to the docks to discover the contents of the mysterious cargo once again. To her amazement they were filled with silver ice skates.

She awoke and concluded that whatever her heart’s desire, she would find it coming and going just outside her very own window.