Kezia is Afraid of her father
The little girl Kezia was afraid of her father. She always wanted to avoid meeting him. She felt relieved when he went out of the house as his presence made her uncomfortable out of fear Kezia used to stammer in front of her father whereas with others she used to talk normally. He appeared so big to Kezia that she would compare him with a giant. Kezia's grandmother wanted that Kezia should talk to her parents more and therefore on Sunday afternoons she would send her to the drawing room to talk to them, where they would be relaxing.
Kezia Makes a Birthday Gift for her Father
When one day Kezia had a cold and she did not go to school, her grandmother suggested her to make with her own hands a pin-cushion as a birthday gift for her father, whose birthday was next week. So Kezia stitched three sides of it. Then, not finding any scraps to fill it with, she filled it by tearing into small pieces some papers which she found on her mother's bedroom table.
Then, she completed the pin-cushion by sewing its fourth side. Later, her father was very angry when he could not find the papers on which he had written the speech to be given to the Port Authority next day. When Kezia was asked, she told her father that she had torn up and stuffed the papers in the pin-cushion she had made! So her father punished her by hitting her hand with a ruler to teach her not to touch anything that did not belong to her.
Kezia's Neighbours: The Macdonalds
Kezia was jealous of the happy family living next door Mr Macdonald, his wife and five children. Mr Macdonald was always playing with his children when he was free. They were laughing and enjoying each others' company. That is when Kezia realised that there were different kinds of fathers.
Kezia's Opinion about her Father Finally changed
When Kezia's mother fell ill and had to be hospitalised, Kezia's grandmother went to look after her, leaving Kezia to be looked after by Alice, the cook. While sleeping, Kezia had a frightful nightmare of a butcher with a knife and rope and woke up crying, to find her father standing there. He took Kezia with her to his room and lay down beside her to give her comfort. He slept off due to being tired. That is when Kezia realised that he had to work very hard and felt sorry for tearing up his papers. She told him that he had a very big heart.
Conclusion of The Little Girl
In the chapter - The Little Girl teaches us how a loving and caring relationship between parents and children can help in strengthening the bond and attachment in the family. We should try to understand each other instead of finding faults in others.