|
More than anything else, Gillian
wanted to be a ballerina. When she was old enough, her mum had signed her
up for ballet lessons. Every time she went, she did just as the teacher
said. She stretched and danced about the room with grace, which wasn’t
always easy for a bear to do. Some of the other bears in her class were
good dancers too. Cindy could stand on her tiptoes for ten minutes and
walk about the room. Carla could stretch further than any one else. Sally
was the best at doing bends and Betty loved to sit on the floor and
stretch her right leg high into the air.
One day the teacher told them that
it was time to put on a performance for their parents. Gillian was
excited. She was going to be a dancing fairy and wear flowers in her hair.
She practiced and practiced and worked as hard as she could. She wanted to
be the best fairy that she could be.
Her mum bought her a brand new pink
tutu and leotard and some pink ballet shoes to match. She looked
beautiful, just like a fairy. The performance began. Gillian danced about
the stage, kicking her legs high and bending like a butterfly. She was
just about to leap through the air when one of her slippers came untied
and she tripped and fell. She landed right on her face in front of all the
other bears. The little pink roses on her tutu were smashed and Gillian
felt foolish. She started to cry and ran off the stage.
Her teacher was waiting for her.
"Gillian, we all make mistakes sometimes."
Gillian didn’t want to hear that.
She was so embarrassed. "I’m not going to ever dance again!" She fell to
the ground and sobbed.
Gillian’s mum came back stage and
sat down next to her daughter. "Gillian, you looked beautiful out there.
You danced around the stage like a real fairy. I’m so proud of you."
 "But I fell, Mum. Everyone will
laugh at me," Gillian cried.
"No they won’t. Everybody falls at
some time in their life. Now, wipe your tears away and go back out there
and finish performing. You show me that you can be the best ballerina in
the world," her mum said. She tied the ribbons on Gillian’s ballet shoes.
"They won’t come undone this time." She hugged Gillian and went back to
her seat.
"Are you ready, Gillian?" her
teacher asked.
Gillian smiled and nodded yes. She
went back on stage and started dancing. She pirouetted and leapt and
danced like a real fairy. When the performance was over, everyone clapped.
All the bears were lined up on stage and bowed. Someone brought Gillian a
rose. "This is for being so brave and finishing what you started." The
clapping got louder. Even the other bears in Gillian’s dance class clapped
for her.
Gillian felt so proud. She knew that
she’d work even hard at being the best ballerina she could be. |
