Heart melting letter as little boy returns 'stolen' marble to much

'I swear I will never do something like that ever again'

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It may have been a hard lesson to learn but it was certainly a valuable one - and one little boy who purloined a marble from one of Cork's best-known toyshops has more than made up for his 'crime'.

The owners of Pinocchio's Toy Shop on Paul Street, got the most adorable letter in the post this week, from a little boy who may have had a little bit of talking to from his parents after they visited the store.

The letter, from a boy called Oliver, said: 'Dear Owner of Pinocchio's Toy Shop. I have stolen an item from your shop, I swear I will never ever do something like that ever again. My sincere apoligies, Oliver".

And sellotaped to the letter was a single little marble, the ill-gotten gains of Oliver's city centre crime spree earlier in the week.

The letter does have the hallmarks of a case of a little boy getting home only to produce a new toy that his parents didn't remember buying for him - and that little boy getting a gentle but firm lesson in doing the right thing.

The owners of Pinocchios, Wyon and Christel Stansfield, told CorkBeo that the letter was 'so nice' to find in amongst the usual bills and invoices when they opened the shop earlier this week.

"We know that little kids take things sometimes, it's not on purpose, and we do get parents coming back in, red-faced, to explain what happened and hand the toys back," said Wyon.

"But this is the first time we got a letter like this, for something so small. It was just the one marble, worth 30 cent and we would never have known it was missing.

"But that is the mark of a very decent young man, and his parents and it does give you faith in humanity, a little bit!".

Wyon says they are now going to write back to the boy, to thank him for his honesty, to accept his apology and to let him know that in doing the right thing, he has made everything OK, and he will always be welcome in the best little Toy Shop in Munster.

The tale was initially shared by Pinocchios to their Instagram Page and if you want to support this family-owned, independen toyshop that's been trading in the heart of Cork since 1990, y ou can find all you need to know (and order online) on their webpage.