An Ugly Doll. There was a boy named Peter. He had a sister who had a lot of dolls. Most her dolls were nice and beautiful but one of them was strange and ugly. The girl was frightened of this doll and was frightened even to throw it out. Peter decided to help his sister, he said: - Don't worry, I'll throw it out, relax, it's just a silly doll, nothing more. - Ok, - said his little sister - but you must destroy it, burn it, please. I'm so scared of this doll. He only laughed at her little sister. What was said was done. But Peter didn't want to spend his time on burning the doll, he just dropped it into the river and said good bye to it. He came home late and went to sleep at once. At night he woke up. Somebody was breathing near him. Somebody was climbing up his sheet. He couldn't see anything - it was a very dark starless night and he was terrified. Then he felt something wet on his legs. He moved to the very corner of the bed, hoping it was a nightmare. It wasn't. Some minutes passed and then he could recognize in that heavily breathing and slowly creeping thing the ugly doll which he had sent to a floating trip. Peter couldn't speak or do anything. The doll now was not only ugly, it was the ugliest creature he had ever seen or could have even imagined something like that. - Hello, darling - said the Doll in a deep dry voice. - I don't like good byes. You know, I wasn't going to leave this family. I love this family. I want to be here and to live in this house forever. And now you will help me. - But... how... sorry... I was... I thought... - Peter tried to explain - You are just a doll... How can you... ? - Oh, shut up, just a boy. I'm not a doll now. Now I'm you. And the doll tore off Peter's legs and put them on. Then it tore off Peter's arms and put them on. Then it tore Peter's head off and put it on too. And the Doll turned into Peter. And Peter became the ugly doll. When next day Peter's sister saw the ugly doll on the same place on the shelf, she was so angry at Peter, she took the doll and dropped it into the fire in the fireplace. The doll wanted to cry but couldn't. The doll was destroyed - her real brother was burnt, but she didn't know about it. - Peter, why you didn't burn that doll? - she asked Peter (the real Doll), when she saw him. - You should know, now I love dolls, my darling, but more than dolls I love you - said Peter in a strange dry voice. Nobody saw that little girl anymore.
