Page 1 - Good News December 2012 paper

obby was getting cold sitting in his backyard something along the curb. He
in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he
Bdidn'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 household 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 to give her. Wiping a tear from his eye,
Bobby kicked the snow and started to
walk down to the street where the shops
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
reached down and discovered a
shiny dime. Never before has
anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby
felt at that moment!
As he held his newly found
treasure, a warmth spread
throughout his entire body and he
walked into the first store he saw.
His excitement quickly turned
cold when salesperson after
salesperson told him that he
could not buy anything with only a
dime.
Finally he saw a florist 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 as a Christ-
mas gift. The shop owner looked
at Bobby and his ten cent offering.
Then he put his hand on Bobby's
shoulder and said, "You just wait
here and I'll see what I can do for
you."
Continued on p. 8
Continued on p. 8