Synopses & Reviews
Dora is a child of magic and wishes. The only child of a goodhearted man and woman, she knows only happiness -- no anger, or sadness, or pain. For Dora is protected by her parents wishes. Granted by a beautiful witch, whom the parents had rescued from a hunter's trap before Dora was born, their first wish was for a child; the next was for her to be protected from everything evil and sad in the world, and the last was for her to be loved by all. The first would be granted, the witch assured them. For the second wish she gave them a box into which they must put everything evil or sad, but the child must never open the box or all would be undone. The last wish, she said, was up to the child to fulfill.
As the years went by, Dora's parents fulfilled their second wish by adding to the hidden box everything they thought might hurt Dora; thorns from a berry bush, hot coals from the fire, the stinger from a bee. And when a bird that Dora loved was killed by a fox, they put the dead bird in, too, so that Dora would not be sad.
The last wish was all but forgotten. And when a young boy appeared one day, crying for the loss of his mother in the woods, Dora's mother's only thought was to wipe his tears away before sending him to play with Dora. That night he persuaded Dora to get his missing tears from the box where her mother put them. Opening the box and lifting the tears, Dora understood sadness for the first time, and slowly, item by item she felt pain and hurt and sorrow. And when her parents rushed to her side and saw the boy had turned into the beautiful witch, they finally understood the third wish. "To be loved by all," said the witch, "Dora must have compassion, and to have compassion, she must know not only goodness and joy, but also some of the evil and sadness in the world, as we all do."
Synopsis
What would it be like to live in a perfect world? A world without pain or sorrow?
Dora, the child of a goodhearted man and woman, knows such a world. She is protected by the wishes her parents made before her birth--wishes granted by a grateful witch. Her parents first asked for a child, next for her to be protected from all evil, sadness, and pain in the world, and lastly for her to be loved by all. The witch gives Dora's parents a box in which to put everything they want to protect her from, as well as a warning that Dora must never open the box, or the wish will come undone. The last wish is up to Dora to complete.
As the years go by, Dora's box is filled and Dora never feels pain, or fear, or grief--until the day a boy persuades Dora to open the box. As Dora feels sadness for the first time, the third wish finally comes true, for to be loved by all, she must know pain and sorrow as well as happiness and joy.
Inspired by the myth of Pandora's box, this mesmerizing tale, paired with the spectacular paintings of debut illustrator Fabian Negrin, has the depth and beauty of a classic.