Is New Really Improved?

      When she and her mother returned home from shopping, Missy went straight to her room.

      “Why don’t you play for a while, dear?” said her mother, a brown Cybunny, as she laid down her many purchases. “I need to wrap your presents. Promise me you won’t peek!”

      “I promise,” replied Missy absently. She looked around her room for something to play with while she waited. Her eyes lit briefly on Miss Calliope, who was tossed indifferently in the corner; but she picked up a jigsaw puzzle instead and set about putting it together.

      Miss Calliope was her old baby doll. Missy had gotten her for Christmas years ago when she was a cub. She promptly named the stuffed Kyrii “Miss Calliope”, and Miss Calliope had immediately become her best friend. Missy took her everywhere and they shared a great many adventures together. After so many years of hard play, Miss Calliope was looking a little worse for wear; she was missing several tufts of hair and one of her bead eyes had disappeared somewhere along the way. Missy’s mother had replaced the eye with a black button, and although the result looked a little odd Missy was just happy her friend had an adequate replacement. Her dress was torn in a couple of places and one of her shoes was gone, giving her a rather bedraggled appearance. Maybe that was part of the reason Missy was tired of playing with her. After all, she was ten years old now. Much too old to be playing with baby dolls!

      “You can come out now, dear!” her mother called. Missy’s eyes lit up and she practically flew out of room. She stopped short, gasping in amazement at the many bright packages mounded on the dining room table. There were several very small ones, and a couple that because of their odd lumpy appearance obviously held clothing - and one large one that looked very promising.

      “Oh, Mommy – can I open my presents?” Missy beseeched, opening her brown eyes wide for effect. Her mother, smiled, unmoved by her clever ploy. She was after all Missy’s mother; and as such was wise to her daughter’s little tricks.

      “After lunch, sweetheart,” she replied firmly. “Eat first, play later.”

      Missy sighed but obediently sat down at the table. She smiled inwardly, not really too disappointed. After all, lunch was going to be extra good today. Her mother had allowed her to select the menu as a birthday treat. So instead of cheese sandwiches and tomato soup she was going to have spaghetti and meatballs with Chokato Kougra pudding for dessert. Yum!

      As she ate her food, Missy couldn’t keep her eyes off the pile of presents. Visions of what might be hiding behind the colorful wrapping paper whirled through her mind. When she was finally done with her meal, her mother looked at her clean plate and smile in approbation.

      “My, young lady – you certainly did a good job this time. You usually dawdle over your food for at least an hour! I guess having a reason to finish quickly makes a big difference, hmmm?”

      Missy smiled widely. “Can I open my presents now?” she asked sweetly. Her mother nodded.

      “Of course. Why don’t you start with the little ones, and save the big one for last?”

      “Okay, Mommy,” Missy agreed eagerly. She reached across the table and grabbed the smallest package. When she held it to her ear and shook it, she heard an interesting tinkling sound, and when she opened it she discovered a delicate silver necklace inside. She exclaimed in delight and had her mother help her put it on right there at the table. The other gifts were equally welcome; a large bottle of strawberry scented shampoo and some Kougra claw polish (“I think you’re old enough to start painting your nails,” said her mother, a little wistfully), a new book (“Snowy- A White Kougra Story,” said Missy, reading the title. “Ooh, I’ll start this tonight!”); a pair of silver earrings to match her new necklace; a pretty pink sweater and a new nightgown with a moon and stars design.

      Finally only one package remained. Missy drew it close and after a moment’s hesitation tore eagerly at the paper. As it fell away from the box and revealed its contents, she squealed in delight. The limited edition Fair Maiden Usuki! She carefully turned the box around and looked at the back. Number #15!! Not only was it the limited edition, it was a low number. That made it even more special!

      “Why don’t you take your presents to your room, Missy? I’m sure you’ll want to start playing with your new doll right away.”

      “Oh, yes, Mommy!” replied Missy happily. She gathered up the clothes, jewelry, book and grooming items and took them to her room, then returned for the doll. Carefully, almost reverently, she cradled it in her arms and carried it into her room, pulling the door closed behind her. She set the box down on the floor and took a closer look at it.

     ‘Fair Maiden Usuki’ was emblazoned on the outside of the box in bold red letters. ‘Limited Edition of 1000’. Missy opened the top gently, careful not to tear the cardboard. She eased the doll out and finally held it in her hands. It was gorgeous! The Usuki had long gold tresses topped by a delicate blue headband. The hair was surprisingly hard and a little unpleasant to the touch, apparently having been sprayed with hair spray or lacquer to keep it from becoming disheveled. Miss Calliope’s hair had never felt like this. Some of it was gone now, but that’s because Missy had loved to drag Miss Calliope around by her long hair and had spent hours shampooing it and combing it out when they played hairdresser.

      The Usuki’s dress was a vision of blue and purple, draped in artful folds around her tiny form. Missy held the doll up and looked at the tag that was hidden underneath the skirt. “Dry clean only” it read. Missy sniffed a little disdainfully. Miss Calliope had never needed to be dry-cleaned; in fact, she had made more trips through the washing machine than Missy could count.

      Next, Missy placed the Usuki very carefully on the floor. The legs weren’t bendable, so she really couldn’t do much else with it. Besides, she was horribly afraid of damaging it or getting it even slightly dirty. Without realizing she was doing it, Missy began to cast furtive glances over to where Miss Calliope lay. She was old, and she was certainly raggedy – but she was fun to play with. This new doll was beautiful to look at, but ...

      Missy picked up her new doll and very carefully placed her back in the box. Then she placed the box up on a shelf. Turning, she picked up Miss Calliope from the corner and hugged her tight. “I love my new doll,” she said softly, “but I love my best friend even more. Let’s go play hairdresser, Miss Calliope!”

The End