19
THE BILLIONAIRE
so the bottoms faced out, and on the inside, it made a whole wall full of
shelves. For the roof of his little house John used boards, which he then
covered with plastic sheeting and fastened to the boards using a stapler.
He spent a whole week building his little house, making use of the three
hours allotted to him each day for being out in the fresh air. On the seventh
day, as soon as it was time for his walk, Johnny immediately set off for his
creation in the far corner of the garden. Pulling aside the acacia branches, he
glimpsed the little house he’d built and then stopped in surprise. A little girl
was standing next to the entrance to the house and looking inside his cre-
ation. The little girl was wearing a light blue skirt that reached below her
knees, and a white top with frilled sleeves. Ringlets of chestnut hair fell to
her shoulders.
At first Johnny felt jealous to see some stranger here by his creation, and
he couldn’t help but ask:
“What are you doing here?”
The little girl turned her beautiful little face in Johnny’s direction and
answered:
“I’m admiring.”
“What?”
“This marvelous and smart little house.”
“What? What kind?” Johnny asked again, astonished.
“Marvelous and smart,” the little girl repeated.
“Houses can be marvelous, but I’ve never heard of one being smart. Only
people can be smart,” Johnny noted seriously.
“Well, of course people can be smart. And when a smart person makes a
little house, then the house is smart, too,” the girl objected.
“What do you think is so smart about this house?”
“That wall inside is very smart. It has a real lot of little shelves. You could
put a lot of things you need on those shelves, and toys, too.”
Johnny liked the way the little girl thought. Her remarks flattered him,
and maybe he liked the little girl, too.
“She’s pretty and she’s a smart thinker,” Johnny thought to himself. Then
he said out loud, “I built this little house.” Then he immediately asked:
