In a very large toy shop there lived a large community of all sorts of toys. They all dreamed of only one thing: to be bought and played with by children. For the toys were very sad in the shop. They were incredibly delighted by every visitor to the shop. Of course, a toy must never show people that it was alive and could move and talk. But amongst themselves the toys would chat, and they did this most often when the shop was already closing.
On one of the shelves in the shop lived a princess, a knight and a dragon. And one day they began to argue about who was the best.
What's there to argue about, of course you won't find a better doll than me here.
The princess declared boastfully.
You're mistaken. I'm much better than you. Look at my shiny armour. No one else has anything like it.
The knight interrupted the princess impatiently.
Oh no, that's not true. I'm the best toy in this shop. Look how many different buttons I have. I can sing and talk.
Said the dragon decisively.
Well, how are we to understand who is the best of us?
Asked the princess.
It's simple. Whoever of us gets bought first will be the best toy.
The dragon suddenly suggested.
And the toys began to wait for when they would be bought. But a week passed, then another, and no one bought them. Then the toys decided to be clever and improve their appearance. The princess found a large quantity of ribbons in the shop and put them all on herself. She began to look like a Christmas tree.
All the shop visitors openly laughed at the princess doll. For having dressed herself in a large quantity of ribbons, she had become a laughing stock for everyone around her.
The knight saw that many boys were buying transformer cars and decided to pretend he was a transformer. He clumsily and inappropriately tried to look like some sort of vehicle, but in this form looked more like a pile of rubbish than a car. The shop visitors couldn't understand what sort of metal contraption was in front of them.
And the dragon noticed that children liked talking dolls, and began constantly pressing buttons and talking. But people didn't like such noise and many toys argued with him.
All the toys that were on other shelves were readily bought, but not the princess, the dragon and the knight. They so wanted to be bought that on the contrary they overdid it with their enthusiasm and turned themselves into awful creations that no one liked.
But they couldn't even imagine that the problem was precisely in their 'modernisation'. It seemed to them that they hadn't decorated themselves well enough, so they continued frantically to disfigure themselves.
One day a family with three children came into the toy shop: two boys and a little girl. When they approached the shelf where our arguers lived, they were horrified.
What on earth are these monsters?
Asked one of the boys.
Strange, there used to be a beautiful princess, a dragon and a prince on this shelf. But what this horror is, I have no idea.
Answered the shop assistant and hurried to remove the toys from the shelf.
Then the princess began to quietly remove the ribbons from herself.
Wait, wait, I want this toy.
Said the girl when she saw the toy without the many ribbons in the shop assistant's hands.
The dragon stopped making constant noise. And the knight stood to attention again.
And we'll take the dragon and the wonderful knight.
The boys began to shout over each other.
The shop assistant looked at the toys he had wanted to throw away and didn't recognise them. Before him again were the princess, the dragon and the knight that he had once placed on the same shelf.
He took the toys to the till and sold them to the customers. The children brought the toys home and began to play with them constantly. When evening came, the children each took their toy to bed with them to sleep with.
As soon as the children fell asleep, the toys gathered in the middle of the room.
How foolish we were.
Said the princess.
You're right. We shouldn't have disfigured ourselves. We should have simply waited for someone to come to the shop who would like us.
Added the knight.
So the toys understood that you should never pretend to be something you're not. You should always be yourself and then everyone will be happy – both the children and the toys!
