So one of the things lost in my move back to Portland was this childhood stuffed animal: a unicorn with a music box that once upon a time played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
This was a 1980s toy only briefly manufactured ever, so it took years to track down the manufacturer, the name of the toy, the year, etc. It was also one of my few remaining things from childhood, so I was a bit upset when it vanished (especially considering how much of my childhood is fucked and out of reach).
Anyway, I finally found one last year, and ordered it. While at Christmas, friend L and I were splitting a hotel room for one night - our hostess had lost power during the storms. She pops a dino out of her go-bag, and we get to talking about stuffed animals and how this one was a gift from her partner David, who got it for her after a really bad panic attack. She then named it David.
Anyway, she also let on that she had multiple Davids now, because they brought her so much peace. Davids at home. Davids in her car. Davids in her go-bag, etc, etc. A platoon of dino Davids. This convinced me I should get more of my imaginatively-named Unicorn.
The thing is, the wind up music box in these toys are incredibly cheap plastic things. Mine hadn't worked for more than a month or two after it was given to tiny Auspice. The first one I ordered was just flat out broken.
I found another on EBay recently, and it's sitting on top of a shelf in my bedroom, next to a sweet printer's chest I also obtained recently. I just picked it up and wound it and amazingly, the music box works!
I am surprised and pleased, and for being such a dinky little plastic mechanic inside of a stuffed animal, the music box sounds surprisingly sweet.