God and His Goodness

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with

her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening

white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them?

Please, Mommy, please!"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then

looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned

face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them,

I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save

enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away

and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17

pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she

went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions

for ten cents.

On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at

last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She

wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only

time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.

Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for

bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a

story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you

love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse

from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one

you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her

cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do

you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."