The Green Sunglasses

Tina was awfully excited when she got up from her afternoon nap. Monica Aunty was finally here! She could hear her talking in the family room. Tina just loved her aunt Monica. She was a lot of fun. Tina ran happily into the family room.

“Tina! You’re awake!” aunty sounded pleased to see her.

Tina climbed onto aunty’s lap and hugged her.

“Look what I brought for you!” aunty said.

Tina looked. They were a pair of green sunglasses. The frames were heart shaped and pretty, exactly the kind Tina wanted!

“Are those for me?” she asked in delight.

“Yes, they are! Why don’t you put them on?”

Tina quickly put the glasses on. They really looked good on her. Suddenly she noticed something else on the chair - a huge stuffed giraffe!

Tina was about to grab it when Monica Aunty said, “No, honey. That is not for you. Tinki is too small to wear sunglasses so I brought the giraffe for her.”

Tina felt a touch of anger. Tinki was sleeping at the moment so why couldn’t she play with the stuffed toy for a while? Anyway she had loads of toys of her own. But what was that next to the giraffe? A dress, a beautiful pink and golden dress! All soft and shimmery!

“Tina! Don’t do that! Why are you touching everything with your grubby fingers? That is for Tinki. She is going to wear it for her birthday party.”

‘Just a pair of sunglasses for me and heaps of presents for Tinki, that’s not fair!’ thought Tina.

Sad and upset she went outside to the balcony.

Her friend Guriya waved at her from the balcony of the house next door, “Hi Tina! I am wearing my new blue dress for Tinki’s birthday party this evening. What are you wearing?”

Tina made a face, “Whatever old and shabby I can find, I guess! I don’t have loads of new dresses like you do!”

Guriya sounded hurt, “Well, you are wearing lovely new sunglasses but did I say anything about those?  And I hardly have loads of new dresses. Grandma gave me the blue dress the last time she visited us and I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet. You are just being mean.” With that she went into her house.

Tina stood there with a crestfallen face. She had never spoken to her best friend Guriya like that before!

A little later Dad brought the big yummy looking Barbie cake from the bakery. Tina’s birthday cakes were always baked at home by Mummy. Tina was very upset but Mummy and Daddy were too busy with the preparations for the party to pay her any attention.

It was Aunt Monica who saw her crying and asked, “What’s wrong Tina? Why are you crying?”

Tina blurted everything out. After listening patiently to all her grievances Aunty fetched a fat family album from the study.

Opening the first page she said, “Who is this?”

Shyly Tina answered, “Me!”

The album had photographs from her first, second and third birthdays, all showing her cutting huge decorated cakes surrounded by lots of people.

“Your mother did say that you were feeling jealous of Tinki but I didn’t want to believe her! Tinki is one today so her birthday is being celebrated. Your mother will probably be baking her birthday cake at home too from next year. Do you know there were so many guests for your first birthday party that your parents had to rent a separate place? Do you see what I am holding?”

“Yes, a piece of paper.”

“What color?”

“Green”

“No, you are wrong! I am holding a plain white sheet of paper. Take off your sunglasses and you will see.”

Tina took her sunglasses off. Monica Aunty really did have a piece of white paper in her hands. It appeared green only because of the glasses!

“Jealousy is just like those green glasses. If you look at something with eyes filled with envy you will never be able to see its true colour. Silly girl! Did you think I brought a dress just for Tinki? I brought one for you too…. How old are you?”

“Six.”

“So you are already ahead of Tinki by five years when it comes to gifts, right?”

Tina wore the beautiful green dress Monica Aunty had brought for the party. She thought of wearing the sunglasses too and then decided against it. Later she said ‘Sorry’ to Guriya for her rudeness.

Little Tinki couldn’t even blow the candle out or cut the cake and Tina had to do everything for her like it was her birthday! She felt ashamed of herself when Tinki smiled at her with her cake smeared face. How could she have been jealous of her cute little sister?

With a piece of the delicious cake in her mouth Tina decided never to put on her jealousy colored glasses again.