Little Mouse
"I didn't want you to get hooked, either."
The fishing nets he'd given her had no limit. She could end up like a gambling addict, fixated on turning over cards and refusing to stop...
Only to make herself look more and more miserable.
Setting a specific limit let her satisfy her craving without letting repeated failures throw her too badly off balance.
That was good.
"Yes."
Child's Mom nodded.
Indeed.
When Child's Dad put it that way, she understood at once.
"The old man really put a lot of thought into this."
"Oh."
The child was still a little confused.
But if Mom and Dad both said so, then it must be true.
All she had to do was nod.
Child's Mom smiled and patted the child on the head.
"Little Mango was really lucky this time."
"You got a present, too."
"And now you have the chance to keep playing the game."
The child seemed quite happy.
After realizing the child was missing, they'd been worried sick for a long time...
As time passed, their worry and fear only grew more intense.
Just as they were about to reach their peak...
The old man called.
"Mm."
The child's big eyes curved into crescent moons.
She really had been lucky.
"Thinking about it now..."
A thought flashed through Child's Mom's mind. "That balloon of Little Mango's was almost like it had deliberately lured her to the general store."
And that had led to everything that came afterward.
"...It's just like a fairy tale."
"Yeah."
Child's Dad smiled and nodded.
He gently patted the child's head. "Little Mango is the main character in a fairy tale."
Huh?
The child hadn't really understood the rest.
But the main character in a fairy tale...