In one beautiful town with the wonderful name of Miracle, there lived a little girl called Lydia. The girl was six years old, and she had recently started school, in Year One.
Lydia was a very clever girl and very inquisitive. 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 tale of the Little Speckled Hen, the girl said indignantly:
Mum, what on earth are you saying? How can a hen possibly lay a golden egg? Look, Granny has hens in the village and they lay ordinary eggs, and she hasn't got any golden ones in her henhouse.
Lydia, darling, it's a fairy tale! But you should know that miracles often happen in life and fairy tales really do know everything and see everything.
Mum replied to her daughter.
Oh, I can't bear it! I may only be six, but I know the whole truth about fairy tales. Katie from the house next door had a dream — to learn to sing beautifully. Well, 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, perhaps the time hasn't come yet, or perhaps it's not the right 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 told it.
One day Lydia was listening to the tale of the Golden Fish, which could grant wishes. Mum tried hard, choosing the most interesting stories and really wanting her daughter to believe in miracles after all.
But Lydia was stubborn:
Mummy, you're telling untrue stories again! How can a fish talk? It's impossible! And who makes up these fairy tales anyway?
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 peers already went with their mums and dads to the river, which was not far from town, and swam without armbands, independently.
The girl imagined a hundred times how she would run into the warm river and dive with her eyes open under the water, where she could observe the beautiful underwater world. But no matter how much Mum explained to her how to move her arms and legs in the water, Lydia couldn't manage it.
One day, when lessons finished, Lydia decided to walk home not along the bank, but across the wooden footbridge over the river. Her classmates often ran across it to the other bank, but Lydia was afraid — the bridge seemed so fragile that she was scared of falling off it.
But one fine day the girl decided to take a shortcut and go home across the bridge, which her classmates had already crossed to the other bank.
And so, Lydia stepped onto the edge of the bridge, took another little step, and another and another, and reached the middle. Suddenly one plank collapsed, 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 the girl.
Help!
Lydia screamed with all her might, trying to surface, and plunging under the water again.
And suddenly under the water she saw a bright light, and then a beautiful mermaid appeared before her. Her eyes shone with bright light, golden hair curled 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 to move her arms and legs, immediately surfaced and swam to the bank. She stopped being afraid completely, she realised that she had learnt to swim and there was nothing more to fear.
Coming out onto the bank, 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 whom Lydia had just seen. And only courage and self-confidence had appeared in Lydia.
Having recovered a little, Lydia set off home.
Why are you all wet?
Mum asked Lydia in surprise.
Mum, Mummy, I saw a fairy tale! It helped me learn to swim and now I'm not afraid to walk home across the bridge. It was definitely a fairy tale, I'm certain. She was so beautiful, with kind eyes and a radiant smile. How could I not believe in miracles before!
From then on Lydia knew that fairy tales would always be near and would always help. The fairy tale helped the girl to believe in the miracles that happen in everyone's life.
Often fairy tales for children help us learn to believe in miracles that happen every day. One only has to believe and dreams will start to come true!
