A Birthday Present

When I was about eight or nine I had a birthday—this usually happens once every year.  For this particular birthday I wanted to have a friend party, which I did, and it was very fun, etc.  However, what I remember most about this particular birthday was a present I received after the actual birthday and party were past.

Two of my closest friends were twin girls just a few weeks younger than me.  They had been unable to attend my birthday party and they dropped by the next day to give me my present.  It was not wrapped and so I immediately got an eye-full of a rather ragged, browning unicorn.

I don't particularly love stuffed animals to begin with—but they do, so I suppose it was a nice thought.

They both smiled and proceeded to hand me my new unicorn.  I took it and wondered where they had gotten such an old, worn animal from.

Still smiling one of them answered my unvoiced question:



My Friend: "This was ours."

Me: "Oh.  Well, thanks, it looks very . . . loved."

My Friend: "Yah, we didn't want it anymore."

Me: "Oh."

My Friend: "We ran it through the washing machine and patched up the hole in its stomach for you."

Me:


My Friend?: "It was either give it to you or throw it away."

 Me: "You guys are always so thoughtful.  Thanks."  I wouldn't want a wholly stuffed unicorn.

They both shrugged, smiled, and we parted ways.

What did I do with the stuffed unicorn?  I kept it.  In fact for a while it was the centerpiece on my bed.  Why?  I'm not really sure, I think I put it there because I didn't know what else to do with the poor stiff wrinkled thing.  And I did like unicorns, and my friends did give it to me . . .

Before you judge my friends too much, let me finish my story.  I went on with my life happily for a few years.  The unicorn lived on top of my bed, and then it lived at the foot of my bed, and then it got lost somewhere in my bedroom and forgotten.  One day, on one of my rare cleaning escapades, I found it again.  Did I want it anymore?  No (I'd never really wanted it), so—very charitably, I donated it to my brother.  He in turn kept it as the centerpiece on his bed and then donated it to his younger brother when they switched rooms.  The unicorn lived on his bed for a few more years.

Where is it now?  I'm not sure.  The only thing I feel relatively certain about it is that it is not in the garbage.  The unicorn has become one of those keep-sakes that you keep only because you can't seem to throw it away.  Wherever it is I wish it a very happy life and hope it doesn't leave stains on anyone's bed spreads as it travels the world of bedrooms and bedroom floors.