A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from
its
>hiding place in the closet.
>She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
>times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for
>mistakes.
>Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap,
she
>slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug
Store
>with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
>She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but
he
>was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing
>noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound
she
>could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and
banged
>it on the glass counter. That did it!
>”And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of
voice.
>I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,”
he
>said without waiting for a reply to his question.
>”Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess
>answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick…
and I
>want to buy a miracle.”
>” I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
>” His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head
and
>my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a
miracle
>cost?”
>”We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help
you,”
>the pharmacist said, softening a little.
>”Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will
get the
>rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”
>The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and
asked
>the
>little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
>” I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know
he’s
>really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t
pay
>for it, so I want to use my money.”
>” How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.
>”One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly.
>”And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”
>”Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven
>cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. “
>He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her
mitten
>and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and
meet
>your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.”
>That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in
>neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it
wasn’t
>long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
>
>Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had
led
>them to this place.
>That surgery,” her Mom whispered. “was a real miracle. I wonder how
much it
>would have cost?”
>Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost…one dollar and
>eleven cents …. plus the faith of a little child..