Thank you, I enjoyed reading your story. You did so well with switching the scenes and placing yourself into the different characters.

The story touched a deeper reflection on my side. Here it is:
The question of whether to meddle in the lives of one's neighbours because life made one begrudging through perceived misfortune is one that is decided anew at every moment. Of course, there is no elf there to work his magic, but the people themselves who can choose in the making of an event. If they follow their disappointed hearts and attract attention by venting their displeasure and spoiling the pleasures of others, they will be sure of "success".
Or do they allow memories to be reawakened in the scene that unfolds before their eyes? In the face of a child who has not yet mastered the talent of cold strategy and concealment, every old fogey is well advised to realise that instead of begrudgingly, he can also make conspiratorial decisions and win friends from neighbours hitherto experienced as distant. Children and dogs are excellent bridge builders.

Good neighbourly relations are not a one-way street. The single mother who warns her child that the mean old codger might turn on her, she too has probably missed opportunities to see past the other person's mean-spirited qualities. There are numerous small acts of making each other feel good. You can pretend you need to borrow two eggs or bring over leftover cake. Overcoming the strangeness of neighbours in the long run and with persistence enlarges every neighbourly community. Where this happens, people feel safe and secure. So your story has a far greater dimension for me, because it testifies to how much we can isolate ourselves from those who are closest to us spatially.

Grumpy old men usually soften if you ask them often enough for help. They would never admit it, even make disparaging remarks about the "helpless neighbour", but if you neglect these words, you can see how much they like being needed.
:)