But- but- I try so hard! I try and- and- I do what I'm told, and- Nothing happens!

She is weeping bitterly, the little girl, and I do not know how to tell her.
I know what I must not say. That it is about fair and unfair. Or about what just -shrug of the shoulders- happens. Or about just Doing Your Best. And that It'll All Come Right In The End.

But how should I say that it's about waiting long enough. And then, if things really don't happen, about honestly finding out why. And then keeping on working to make it better.
I cannot say it because it sounds didactic and unsympathetic and because I do not have the words or the bond to explain.

So I hug her tightly and read her a fairytale. Hansel and Gretel, or maybe Cinderella.