The Doll's Heart

»I want to change the sign on my bedroom door«, said Nina. »I want it to say
‘NINA AND WIDU LIVE HERE’.«
»Who is Widu?« her mother asked, surprised.
»That’s the name of my doll«, Nina answered impatiently, »Wiiiduuu!«

Widu came from the flea market and she’s the most wonderful doll in the whole wide world. She can talk and tickle Nina’s toes as if she was playing the keys on a flute. Widu knows all the best stories, and all Nina’s worries – even her fear of dentists and stupid boys – seem to evaporate when she holds Widu tight in her arms. And Widu comes into her life at just the right moment, too: Nina has moved house and hasn’t made any new friends yet. But it doesn’t matter, because Widu can be her best friend for the time being. Nina’s cuddly toys are a bit jealous at first, but that soon passes when they discover all the fantastic games Widu knows. Never before have they all had such great fun together. But sometimes Widu gets really sad. She lies awake at night and for the first time in her life she feels such a yearning – a yearning to be like the real, flesh-and-blood girl she belongs to. She’s well aware of what the missing ingredient is… a heart. But dolls don’t have hearts, or they’d almost be human. When Nina gets ill and needs her help, Widu knows exactly what she has to do.