One girl came to the kindergarten in an elegant dress. First time ever. She only had a mother; they were very poor. And for some reason this girl, Elya, was always shaved bald - she wore a clean white handkerchief. And the dress was pink, I remember very well: from a pink flannel, with a round collar and three wavy little ribbons sewn on the chest. And white buttons on the sleeves. Very beautiful dress. When we went to bed in our cribs. Elya seized the moment and lay down in her dress. The teacher did not notice, otherwise she would have scolded Elya.
I understood why the girl did this. And you understand - she just didn't want to take off such a beautiful, such an elegant dress. Like a princess. After all, everyone knows that princesses wear pink flannel dresses. And they walk beautifully in them; and dance. In Czech shoes and in a pink dress, like Elya at a music lesson. She herself turned pink with happiness! Very beautiful. We were about four years old then.
And then, on a walk, one girl took and specifically pushed Elya. Straight into the dirt. And that's all. The dress got dirty, torn at the side, under the armpit - such a big gap. And the dirt ... And this quiet girl was crying softly. The whole face was covered with dirty streaks; and the handkerchief fell from his bald head. And the evil girl called Elya names - "she was imagining, bald imaginative!" She was the daughter of a teacher. And she often beat other children. I cried too. We were still little. Defenseless against evil.
So that's it. When someone attacks another, accusing him of pride, and venomously says: “Take off the crown!” - I immediately remember this story. Pride is blamed on those who are afflicted with a much more terrible vice - envy. Black envy that makes you spoil someone else's pink dress. And push me into the mud "I imagine" just for the fact that she put on a pink flannel dress. And she dared to rejoice in him.
Now we are not small for a long time. But some walk around - in pink. Others are in black. The soul also has clothes - and we see them perfectly. And it is not necessary to take off the crown at the request of the envious; once they see her, it means that she really is ... When we went to bed in our cribs. Elya seized the moment and lay down in her dress.