One day, my lite daughter Annie came to me with a difficult problem. "Helen hates me!" she cried. "She wants me only to be her 1.You tell Helen that I want to be her friend, but I can have other friends, too!"
Oh! I looked at her for a few 2wondering what to do, when suddenly an idea came to me.
I picked up two 3from the living room. I put the small basket inside the big one and said. "When everyone is born, he or she has a little basket. The lite one is 4.The big one is mine. Your little basket is inside mine.5do you think that is?"
She looked at me 6and said nothing
I continued, "Your little basket is in mine because when you were born, there were too many things you couldn't do for yourself. I fed you, bathed you and I7 everything else you couldn't do on your own.8 I put your basket in mine. As you grew older, when you learnt to tie your shoes, that went in your basket You 9want me to tie your shoes now, right?"
She said softly, "No, I can tie my own shoes."
As you grow older, there will be 10things you must do by yourself." As I spoke, I took her basket out of mine and handed it to her." You will finally 11 your own basket with things only you can do, like deciding who you want to be friends with, what college you will go to, who you will marry."
She 12it for a while and said," I understand. There are some things that I have to do for myself because they are in my basket."
I hugged her and continued, "One day when I become 13, you will take things out of my basket and place them into your basket. Finally, you'll take my basket. Just like I do for my mom and grandmother now." I gently 14my basket with hers.
Life is a 15. As she watched the little basket in my hand and smiled, she understood
