Franz Kafka (1883—1924), a famous writer, never married and had no children. Once, at the age of 40, when he was walking through a park in Berlin, Germany, he came across a young girl crying. She lost her favorite doll (玩偶).
He helped her look for the doll, but they couldn't find it. Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would look for the doll again.
The next day, when they still had not found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll that said, "Please do not cry. I have gone on a trip to see the world. I'm going to write to you about my adventures (历险)."
Thus began a story that continued to the end of Kafka's life.
When they would meet, Kafka read aloud the letters (which he had written, of course) of adventures that the girl found exciting. Finally, Kafka read her a letter in which the doll said it had finally returned to Berlin. Then, he gave her a doll that he had bought.
"This does not look like my doll at all," she said. Kafka handed her another letter that said, "It is my trips that have changed me." The girl hugged (拥抱) the new doll and took it home with her. A year later, Kafka died.
Many years later, the now grown-up girl found a letter hidden inside the doll. The tiny letter, signed by Kafka, said, "Everything you love is very likely to be lost, but in the end, love will return in a different way."
