In a wonderful city with the amazing name of Wonder, there lived a little girl named Lydia. The girl was six years old and had recently started school, in grade one.
Lydia was a very clever girl and very curious. Whenever interesting events were happening somewhere, the girl absolutely had to know everything and be at the centre of attention.
Lydia had one other peculiarity—the girl absolutely didn't believe in fairy tales and thought that everyone around her was deceiving her.
One evening, when Mum was putting her daughter to bed and telling the story of the Little Red Hen, the girl said indignantly:
Mum, what are you going on about? How can a hen lay a golden egg? Look, at Grandma's farm in the country, the hens lay regular eggs, and there aren't any golden ones in her henhouse.
Lydia, it's a fairy tale! But you should know that miracles often happen in life, and fairy tales really do know and see everything.
Mum answered her daughter.
Oh, I can't believe this! Even though I'm only six, I know the whole truth about fairy tales. Katie from next door had a dream—to learn to sing beautifully. So her mum promised her that one fine day, when she got a bit older, a fairy tale would come to their house and teach her to sing. And what happened? Three months have passed, and Katie still can't sing any better than before.
The girl laughed.
Well, maybe the time hasn't come yet, or maybe it's not the miracle that's meant to happen to Katie.
Mum replied to Lydia.
Every evening, Mum told her daughter a new fairy tale, and each time Lydia doubted that everything really happened the way Mum described it.
One day, Lydia was listening to the tale of the Golden Fish that could grant wishes. Mum tried hard, choosing the most interesting stories, really wanting her daughter to finally believe in miracles.
But Lydia was stubborn:
Mummy, you're telling untrue stories again! How can a fish talk? That's impossible! And who even makes up these fairy tales?
The girl asked in amazement.
Mum just threw up her hands; she didn't know what to answer her daughter.
Lydia also had a dream—to learn to swim. Some of her classmates already went with their mums and dads to the river not far from the city and swam without floaties, all by themselves.
The girl imagined a hundred times how she would run into the warm river and dive underwater with her eyes open, where she could observe the beautiful underwater world. But no matter how many times Mum explained how to move her arms and legs in the water, Lydia just couldn't get it.
One day, when lessons finished, Lydia decided to walk home not along the shore but across the wooden footbridge over the river. Her classmates often ran across it to the other side, but Lydia was afraid—the bridge seemed so fragile that she feared falling off it.
But one fine day, the girl decided to take a shortcut and head home across the bridge that her classmates had already crossed to the other side.
And so, Lydia stepped onto the edge of the bridge, took another little step, then another and another, until she reached the middle. Suddenly, one plank gave way, and the girl's foot was caught as if in a trap. Then another board broke, and the girl fell straight into the water.
Lydia felt the cool water cover her head, and her arms and legs completely stopped obeying her.
Help!
Lydia screamed with all her might, trying to surface, then plunging underwater again.
And suddenly, underwater, she saw a bright light, and then a beautiful mermaid appeared before her. Her eyes shone with bright light, golden hair swirled through the water like waves, and there was a smile on her face.
Swim, Lydia! You can swim, you swim better than anyone!
The mermaid said.
The girl began moving her arms and legs, immediately surfaced, and swam to shore. She stopped being afraid completely; she realized she had learnt to swim and had nothing more to fear.
Coming ashore, she looked into the water. But there was no longer any beautiful mermaid there, nor any bright light from the radiant eyes of the beautiful girl Lydia had just seen. Only courage and self-confidence had appeared in Lydia.
Having recovered a bit, Lydia headed home.
Why are you all wet?
Mum asked Lydia in surprise.
Mum, Mummy, I saw a fairy tale! She helped me learn to swim, and now I'm not afraid to walk home across the bridge. It really was a fairy tale, I'm certain. She was so beautiful, with kind eyes and a radiant smile. How could I not have believed in miracles before!
From then on, Lydia knew that fairy tales would always be nearby and would always help. The fairy tale helped the girl believe in the miracles that happen in everyone's life.
Often, fairy tales for children help us learn to believe in the miracles that happen every day. You just have to believe, and dreams will start coming true!
