The Dime ( CHRISTMAS STORY )

[Guest guest]

> The Dime

>

> A cute story that made the email rounds last season.

>

> Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in

> the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them

> and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he

> wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job

> of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his

> backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he

> might, he could not come up with an idea for his

> mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he

> thought, " This is useless, even if I do come up with

> an idea, I don't have any money to spend. "

>

> Ever since his father had passed away three years ago,

> the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because

> his mother didn't care, or try, there just never

> seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the

> hospital, but the small wage that she was earning

> could only be stretched so far.

>

> What the family lacked in money and material things,

> they more than made up for in love and family unity.

> Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran

> the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of

> his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their

> mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was

> Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

>

> Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and

> started to walk down to the street where the shops and

> stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a

> father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.

> Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each

> decorated window.

>

> Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.

>

> It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly

> turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the

> glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of

> something along the curb. He reached down and

> discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt

> so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.

>

> As he held his new-found treasure, a warmth spread

> throughout his entire body and he walked into the

> first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold

> when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy

> anything with only a dime.

>

> He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line.

> When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby

> presented the dime and asked if he could buy one

> flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner

> looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering.

>

> Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to

> him, " You just wait here and I'll see what I can do

> for you. " As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful

> flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why

> mothers and girls liked flowers.

>

> The sound of the door closing as the last customer

> left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the

> shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly

> the shop owner came out and moved to the counter.

>

> There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red

> roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all

> tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart

> sank as the owner picked them up and placed them

> gently into a long white box.

>

> " That will be ten cents young man, " the shop owner

> said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby

> moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be

> true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!

>

> Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, " I

> just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents

> a dozen. Would you like them? "

>

> This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man

> placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was

> true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding

> for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, " Merry

> Christmas son. "

>

> As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked

> out. " Who were you talking to back there and where are

> the roses you were fixing? "

>

> Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from

> his own eyes, he replied, " A strange thing happened to

> me this morning. While I was setting up things to open

> the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set

> aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I

> wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or

> what, but I set them aside anyway.

>

> Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into

> the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother

> with one small dime.

>

> " When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I

> too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a

> Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew,

> stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to

> give me ten dollars. " When I saw that little boy

> tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together

> a dozen of my very best roses. " The shop owner and his

> wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped

> out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel

> cold at all.

>

> May this story instill the spirit of CHRISTmas in you

> enough to pass this act along.

>

> Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.

>

> Goodness is the only investment that doesn't fail.