The candy falls out of the broken Dora the Explorer piñata and the exuberant children push and shove to get to it first. The proud parents look on, viewing the savagery with pleasure, each thinking of their child as the next Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali.
However, one little girl stands on the sidelines, tears rolling down her face. Her mother and best friend rush over, simultaneously offering the girl Kleenexes, pawfuls of candy, and questions.
“What’s wrong?”
“You want some candy?”
“Is it time to go home?”
The girl nods at the last question and wordlessly follows her mother who apologizes and thanks the host. The girl, with a dripping tissue, sops up the tears still falling freely. The other children stare at her as she and her mother leave.
As they drive home, the mother peppers her daughter with questions, receiving silence and muffled sobs in return. The anxious mother phones the doctor and the girl’s father, who both tell the mother to relax. For the rest of the day, the girl cradles her dolls and stuffed giraffe, soaking their cloth bodies with tears. The mother, seeking to consol her baby, offers her chocolate and other sweets, which are all refused.
Finally, during dinner, the girl breaks down completely. Puzzled and close to hysteria herself, the mother picks up her daughter and nearly screams, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
To this the little girl replies, “Mommy, didn’t the dolly have a heart? Didn’t we break the dolly’s heart?”
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