The story
“The little girl was very happy because she owned more dolls than did any of her playmates. It was therefore a source of sorrow to her when she came home one afternoon and found that the pet dog had eaten the most charming doll in her collection. While bowed down with maternal grief, she did not neglect to look about for a successor to her lost one and while passing a toy store she saw the very doll she wanted. The price was prohibitive, however, and she found that her balance in the bank (toy bank) was much lower than she had anticipated. Still an inspiration came to her, an advertisement calling her attention to the value of accident insurance policies. With 50 cents she bought one, and after looking over the provisions, decided that the easiest way to make money was to break her arm, which carried with it a cash bonus of $200. No one can deny that the girl tried hard to earn the money. She had all sorts of marvelous adventures, but seemed to be indestructible, for do what she would she could not break. Finally, in despair, she went home, tore up the policy, threw the pieces away, and tripping over a rug, fell and broke her arm. Of course she did not get the $200, for she did not have the policy; but it taught her a lesson, and one which she remembered in later years, which is, that it does not pay to hunt for trouble because it is liable to come when one least expects it.”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 15 November 1913
