The Music Box Dancer

She is tucked away safe and sound inside her little box. She is a dancer poised in a perfect pirouette. Her passion is her dancing, which she does all day. Arms and legs held gracefully she dedicates herself to her dance. Then one day, as she is practicing, two young children rush to her home and open the lid. They stare at her out of curiosity. Then they gently twist the key on the outside of the box in which she lives. Her music starts to play and she begins to spin. Performance is what they expect, she performs just to please. Always conscious of what she does, she does everything she can to deliver a flawless show for these children. After her dance is complete, they close the lid and walk away. The little doll is relieved that they are gone. No longer does she have to put herself out on display for the world to see, or so she thinks. The next day the children arrive again. They open the lid and twist the key. She is forced into dancing once again. This continues day after day. They come and demand a show. In return she performs her dance. Throughout the years this little doll becomes battered and bruised. She was dropped on the floor, causing her small porcelain dress to become chipped. Tea was spilled on her house, causing her box to be stained. Many other events like this occurred and she was becoming more and more broken, but she didn't notice until one day when she saw herself in the mirror. She no longer was the beautiful, graceful dancer that the children saw when they first opened her box. She was chipped in several places, her home was a wreck, and she had a small black smudge on her right cheek. Her life was no longer enjoyable. Her music was starting to fade and she was tired of performing the same dance every day. As time went on the children lost their fascination with her dance and the lid to her home was shut. She was then placed on a shelf, tucked away behind another object of fascination, and forgotten. She was grateful for the rest, but if she was honest she would tell you that part of her longed to dance for the children one last time. She had performed for so long that it had become a part of her. But the children had moved on, and she lived the rest of her life quietly, dancing only for herself.