Lucky Penny
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© Copyright 1998 - by Jim Pool

Billy Jo could skip and Billy Jo could jump, but Billy Jo was not as tall as the grown up people, so she had to look up to see their faces.   Billy Jo was at a party with her mom and dad.  She would look up at them, but they did not look down to see her.  The grownups would just move along and talk to each other.  Billy Jo did not think that they knew she was there.  So, rather than look up Billy Jo began to look down and watch the grown up feet because sometimes they would step on her as they moved about.  While Billy Jo was looking down she spotted a penny on the floor.

Quickly picking it up, Billy Jo thought she was very lucky to find such a treasure.  She began to wonder what she could buy with her penny when she felt it getting warm in her hand.  "Wow!" thought Billy Jo, "this must be a lucky penny for it gives me such a warm feeling."  Billy Jo could hardly wait to share her good fortune with someone, but none of the grown up people paid any attention to her.  Billy Jo was beginning to feel sad when she spotted another girl, just her size, in that crowd of grown up people.

"Look," Billy Jo said, "I found a penny on the floor.  It must be a lucky penny because it gets so warm when I hold it."  Billy Jo gave the penny to the little girl who smiled back at her.   Finally, Billy Jo had someone just her size to share with.  They talked and talked about the good times they had and the fun things that they did.  The other girl could skip and jump too and that made Billy Jo feel good.  Then, as the grown up people began to move, Billy Jo was alone again in a sea of grown up people.

Billy Jo began looking for another penny, and sure enough, there was one on the floor.  But, as Billy Jo picked it up, she felt it was already warm.  "This must be the same lucky penny that I gave the little girl," thought Billy Jo.  As she looked around, Billy Jo saw another girl looking at the floor.  The little girl looked up and said, "Did you see a penny on he floor, I dropped mine here somewhere."  "Here it is." said Billy Jo, as she held out the penny.  This was not the same girl that Billy Jo had talked to earlier.

"Oh, thank you." the girl said, "I did not want to lose it because I just got it from a new friend."  Then, as Billy Jo began to share with this girl the good times she had and the fun things she did, she realized that the lucky penny was not for spending at all.  Its luck was to find a new friend to share it with and to pass the luck along.

So if you see a penny looking lonely there on the floor, be sure to look for a friend to share it with, for that is the true luck of the penny.

 

Please contact me with your comments, contributions, and/or corrections.

© Copyright 1998-2004 by Jim Pool Monday, January 19, 2004