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Alice loved ballet. She'd been given a ballet video for her birthday, and she spent hours watching it. When she'd been attending ballet classes for three weeks, she announced to the assembled family that she was going to be a ballet dancer when she grew up.

Alice's mother and father exchanged meaningful glances. "Ballet means a lot of hard work," warned her father.

"And it depends an awful lot on how you grow," added her mother. "Ballet dancers have to watch their diet very carefully, in case they put on too much weight. And some people are just too tall or too short to be professional ballet dancers."

Alice's brother just laughed, and made a mock pirouette.

A month later, the ballet teacher announced auditions for ballet school.

"You mean, actually going to a school where all they do is ballet?" asked Alice.

Her teacher laughed. "Not quite! Ballet school is exceedingly hard work, because you have to do all your ordinary lessons and homework, and four hours ballet practice everyday as well."

"I want to go in for the auditions," declared Alice.

"But Alice dear," said her teacher, "you've only been learning ballet for seven weeks. That's much too soon to audition. The auditions are really for girls and boys who've been learning ballet for at least three years."

Alice folded her arms and set her jaw. She could be very stubborn when it suited her. "I want to go in for the auditions," she repeated.

No amount of persuasion or reasoning from her family or from her ballet teacher could persuade Alice to change her mind. She'd decided what she was going to do with her life, and she refused to budge. Besides, she was sure she'd be accepted, for she'd studied that video until she knew every move off by heart, and she spent hours practising in her bedroom. She worked out a dance which showed all the basic ballet steps, and her teacher taught her the standard routine which every entrant had to dance.

When the great day of the auditions came, Alice prayed hard and set off. She danced her best, and felt excited and exhilarated as she came off the floor. She waited the whole of the day until the evening for the results.

Three people from the hundred entrants were selected for ballet school. Alice wasn't one of them. She didn't even get a special mention. She went home in floods of tears, certain that her life was ruined. She was inconsolable for a week. She refused to watch the video again, and refused to be comforted by her family. Even when her brother bought her a packet of sweets just to show he cared, Alice could hardly bring herself to thank him.

She almost refused to go to ballet class the following weekend, but her mother (who could be stubborn herself) dragged her along. Alice glowered and pouted at her teacher, almost as though it was all her fault.

So her teacher took her on one side. "Look Alice," she said. "It takes a lifetime to become a top ballet dancer. Few people make the grade. You might, because you have real potential and I believe you to be dedicated enough to want to succeed. But you tried to run before you could walk. You weren't ready for that audition, so of course you didn't get any praise for your efforts. One day you might be ready, but there's a lot of hard work ahead of you before then. And you have to learn to trust me, and respect my judgement. You have to learn that if I say you're not ready, I'm saying it for your own good, and not to spite you. All I can offer you is three years hard work. Then, if I think you're ready and have a chance, I'll put you in for the audition again. What do you say? Will you risk it?"

Alice looked at her teacher and found herself nodding. She knew now she wasn't going to be a great ballet dancer overnight, but one day, who knows? Perhaps one day her name would be in lights and people would flock to see her dance. Her spirits lifted, and she slipped off the stool and ran to the bar, and began to practise.