A Miracle For A Dollar and Eleven Cents
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.
购买奇迹
坚定的信念能够创造奇迹!
一个8岁的孩子听到她的父母正在谈论她的小弟弟。她只知道他病得非常利害，但是，父母没钱为他医治。他们正准备搬到一所小一点的房子里去住，因为支付了医药费之后，他们已付不起现在的这所房子的房租。现在，只有一个费用昂贵的手术，才能救她的小弟弟的命。但是，他们借不到钱。
当她听到爸爸绝望地低声对眼中含着泪的妈妈说“现在，只有奇迹才能救他了”的时候，这个小女孩回到她的卧室里，把藏在壁橱里的猪形储蓄罐拿出来。她把里面的零钱全部拿出来倒在地板上，仔细的数了数。然后，她把这个宝贵的储蓄罐紧紧地抱在怀里，从后门溜出去，走过6个街区，来到一家药店里。她从她的储蓄罐里拿出一个25美分的硬币，放在玻璃柜台上。
“你想要什么?”药剂师问。
“我是来为我的小弟弟买药的，”小女孩回答道，
“他病得很厉害，我想为他买一个奇迹。”
“你说什么？”药剂师问。
“她叫安德鲁，他的脑子里长了一个东西，我爸爸说只有奇迹才能救他。那么，一个奇迹需要多少钱?”
“我们这里不卖奇迹，孩子。我很抱歉。”药剂师说完后，伤心地对小女孩笑了笑。
“我有钱买它，如果这些钱不够，我还可以想办法再多弄些钱，只要你告诉我奇迹需要多少钱。”
此时，药店里还有一位衣着考究的顾客。他俯下身，问这个小女孩：“你的弟弟需要什么样的奇迹?”
“我不知道。”她抬起泪眼模糊的双眸看着他，“他病得很重，妈咪说他需要手术。但是爸爸付不起手术费，他说只有奇迹才能救我弟弟，所以我把攒下来的钱全部都拿来买奇迹了。”
“你有多少钱?”那人问。
“1美元11美分，不过我还可以想办法多弄到一些钱。”她的声音轻得几乎听不见。
“噢，真是巧极了．”那人微笑着说，“1美元11美分——这正好是为你的小弟弟购买奇迹的钱。”
他一只手接过她的钱，另一只手牵起她的小手。他说：“带我到你家里去，我想看看你的小弟弟，见见你的父母。让我们来看一看我是不是有你需要的那个奇迹。”
那位衣着考究的绅士就是专攻神经外科的外科医生卡尔顿?阿姆斯特朗。手术完全是免费的。手术后没多久，安德鲁就回家了，很快恢复了健康。
“那个手术，”她的妈妈轻声说，“真是一个奇迹。我想知道它到底值多少钱?”
小女孩微笑了。她知道这个奇迹的确切价格：1美元11美分，加上一个小女孩坚定的信念。
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