The Lost and Found Doll

Thanks to Lorraine for this story this morning!

At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park in Berlin when he met a little girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll.  She and Kafka searched for the doll but could not find it.

Kafka told her to come back the next day and they would look again.  The next day when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter “written by the doll” saying...”Please don’t cry, I have taken a trip to see the world and I will write you about all my adventures.”  

Thus began a story that continued to the end of Kafka’s life.

During their meetings he read the letters from the doll carefully written by him about her travels, adventures and conversations. The little girl loved the letters and news from her beloved doll.

One day Kafka bought a new doll and told the little girl that her doll had returned to Berlin. 

“It doesn’t look like my doll at all.” said the little girl.

Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: “My travels and adventures have transformed me.  But I’ve missed you and I’m so happy to be with you again.”  The little girl was so delighted, she hugged the doll and happily took her home.  

Kafka died less than a year later.  They never saw each other again.

The little girl grew up and kept the doll safe. One day she took the doll off the shelf, fondly remembering the old man and the letters. While examining the doll she found a note tucked in between the head and the body. It said: “Everything you love you will eventually lose, but in the end your love will return to you in a different form.”