That day was very special for her. The girl was six or seven years old at the time and she lived with her parents and two younger sisters in the very heart of a little town called Oulu, in Northern Finland. The girl loved ponies more than anything else in the world and she has been promised she would get a new one. It was not just any kind of pony, it had to be a My Little Pony.
For some reason (that the girl does not remember), she did the shopping all by herself. She went to the toy store alone, while her mother and two younger sisters stayed at home. It was not a long way to the toy store, only about two blocks from her home. She knew the route well because she was familiar with walking alone to her friend, who lived also in the city centre, even further from her home than the toy store was located. She left home with a 50 marks’ note in her pocket ready to accomplish her mission. She was very excited about the chance to do the shopping on her own, without her parents or any other adults. It was one of her first experiences of becoming an independent person, taking a small cautious step into the world of adults.
The toy store was located in a light pink, historical building, perhaps one of the oldest and the most beautiful buildings in that town. She thought that this particular toy store was like a children’s paradise. Not only was it in a really elegant building but it was beautifully organized and most importantly, it had all the possible toys a child could imagine.
When entering the shop, the girl looked around a bit and found the pony quite quickly. She had seen it before in the shop and she knew where to look for it. The girl had a special pony in mind. It was a new pony in the series of My Little Ponies and she had seen it somewhere before. The pony was shimmering pink with green hair and a purple-green swimming ring as an accessory. A funny thing about the pony was that it was actually a seahorse which had a swimming ring around his waist in the shape of a frog but the girl did not mind about the form and always considered it as one of the ponies, which she had six altogether. She grabbed the package and took it to the shop assistant. The pony cost 50 marks and she had exactly 50 marks in her pocket. She handed the money and got the pony. Then she walked back home feeling very proud of herself – she had accomplished this task successfully without any problems – and she was happy because she got a new pony. Later her sister also got a similar seahorse pony so that she would not feel jealous.
