"A CHRISTMAS STORY"
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.
~Author Unknown~
Jnor
"1999"
More Christmas Pages
"Your Christmas Tree"
"Season's Greetings" Card
"Legend Of The Poinsettia"
"The History Of The Poinsettia"
"Story of The Candy Cane"
"The Christmas Spirit"
"Christmas Legend Ornaments"
"Home"