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Subject: [FOLKLORE FAMILY] Re: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Home Delivery
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 11:00:14 EST
A Jelly Bean for Halloween
The bag of assorted candies was ready, and I'd been looking
forward to visits from pint-sized goblins. But Halloween
morning, my arthritis flared up, and by the evening, I could
barely move. I couldn't possibly answer each knock on the door
to distribute the goodies, so I decided to fasten the candy bag
to the door and watch the parade of trick-or-treaters from my
darkened living room.
The first to arrive was a ballet dancer with three little
ghosts. Each picked out a sweet in turn. When the last tiny
hand emerged full-fisted, I heard the ballerina scold: "You're
not supposed to take more than one!" I was pleased big sister
would play conscience for the little one.
Princesses, astronauts, skeletons and aliens followed.
More children showed up than I had expected. The candy was
running low, and I was about to turn off the porch light when I
noticed four more visitors. The three oldest reached into the
bag and pulled out Hershey bars. I held my breath, hoping there
would be one left for the tiny witch. But when she pulled out
her hand, all it held was a single orange jelly bean.
Already the others were calling, "C'mon, Emily, let's go.
There's no one home to give you more." But Emily lingered an
extra moment. She dropped the candy in her bag and then paused,
facing the doors. Deliberately, she said, "Thank you, house. I
like the jelly bean."
Then I watched her scamper away to join her fellow trick-
or-treaters. One dear little witch had cast her spell on me.
by Evelyn M. Gibb
Reprinted by permission of Evelyn M. Gibb (c) 1998, from A
Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark
Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff.
>>
³¤³´`*:»§«^i^MISSI ^i^«:*´`³¤
A day without sunshine is like,
you know, night.
Richiele Sloan ICQ #63829109 (Missi)
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