Dickens and a Doll

Charles Dickens was very fond of children. One morning he was walking in the little square opposite his house in London. On a bench he saw a little girl who was playing with a big doll. Suddenly the doll fell to the ground and broke. The girl began to cry. Dickens went up to her and said: “Come to my house, little girl, and we shall see if we can find another doll there.”

So they went to Dickens's house and into the children's room, where there were a lot of dolls. Dickens took a big pretty doll and gave it to the little girl. She was happy to have a new doll. She thanked Dickens and ran home.

The girl's parents did not know who the kind man was. But they wanted to send him a present and thank him. So the next day they sent their daughter to Dickens with a book. When Dickens opened the book, he saw that it was “David Copperfield”, one of his novels.