The Cost

JOYPEACE

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Tess was a precocious (a.早熟的)eight-year-old when she heard her Mom and
Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew.

All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely
out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next
month because Daddy didn't have the money for the doctor's bills
and their house. Only a very costly surgery could save him now
and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money.

She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered
desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its
hiding place in the closet. She poured all 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 backdoor 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 （n, 刮[磨, 擦, 划]伤）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 (n.弯腰, 屈背, 屈服 vi.弯下, 弯下上身, 屈服, 弯腰, 堕落
vt.俯曲, 辱没)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, 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 kind of miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neuro-surgery.

The operation was completed without 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.

A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

~Author Unknown~