Editha’s Burglar: A Story for Children by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Short summary

5 seconds

A little girl hears that a thief has broken into the house. She asks him not to wake her mother and gives up all her jewelry. The criminal is caught. He is so delighted with the child that he returns all of her belongings.

1 minute

Seven-year-old Edith is not like other children. She reads a lot and discusses serious topics. The girl feels sorry for the thieves she learned about from the newspapers. They did not have the opportunity to study like most people, so they do bad things.

One day her father went away on a business trip. At night Edith heard a stranger in the house. She went downstairs and saw a thief in the kitchen. The little girl talks to him very politely and asks him not to take her parents’ things, as they are very precious and would be upset. In return, she brings him her valuable jewelry. The man is rude at first, then he is surprised by the little man’s courage. He takes the kitchen silver and the little girl’s jewelry and leaves.

The parents find out what has happened. They are amazed at their daughter’s generosity. Mama cries and promises to pay more attention to Edith in the future.

The thief is caught and sent to prison. He asks the girl to come to him. During the meeting, he gives her back her jewel box.