A Christmas story

December 24, 2000

Please do not forward with author's credit line.

Something to Make Me Happy

I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store and

decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces.

A nicely dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie

dolls as well, with a roll of money clamped tightly in her little hand.

When she came upon a Barbie she liked, she would turn and ask her father

if she had enough money to buy it. He usually said " yes, " but she would

keep looking and keep going through their ritual of " Do I have enough? "

As she was looking, a little boy wandered in across the aisle and started

sorting through the Pokemon toys.

He was dressed neatly, but in clothes that were obviously rather worn, and

wearing a jacket that was probably a couple of sizes too small. He, too,

had money in his hand, but it looked to be no more than five dollars or

so, at the most.

He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video

games. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father

shook his head, " no. "

The little girl had apparently chosen her Barbie, a beautifully dressed,

glamorous doll that would have been the envy of every little girl on the

block.

However, she had stopped and was watching the interchange between the

little boy and his father. Rather dejectedly, the boy had given up on the

video games and had chosen what looked like a book of stickers instead.

He and his father then started walking through another aisle of the store.

The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the

Pokemon games. She excitedly picked up one that was lying on top of the

other toys, and raced toward the check-out, after speaking with her

father. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them.

Then, much to the little girl's obvious delight, the little boy and his

father got in line behind me.

After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to

the cashier and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and

put the package under the counter.

I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things in my purse when the

little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier rang up his purchases and

then said, " Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you

win a prize! "

With that, she handed the little boy the Pokemon game, and he could only

stare in disbelief. It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted!

The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all

of this, and I saw the biggest, prettiest grin on that little girl that I

have ever seen in my life. Then they walked out the door, and I followed,

close behind them.

As I walked back to my car, in amazement over what I had just witnessed, I

heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll never

forget what she said to him.

" Daddy, didn't Nana and Paw Paw want me to buy something that would

make me happy? "

He said, " Of course they did, Honey. "

To which the little girl replied, " Well, I just did. "

With that, she giggled and started skipping toward their car. Apparently,

she had decided on the answer to her own question of, " Do I have enough? "

by Sharon Palmer

December 23, 2005