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 salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not 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?”