Read Online Chicken Soup for the Little Souls by Jack Canfield - Free Book Online
Authors: Jack Canfield
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On Friday after school, I went to see Mr. Mulligan.
âI really need that doll, Mr. Mulligan,â I said. âI have eight dollars and forty-nine cents to pay you right now, and I will help out in your store every weekend until I have paid the rest of the money, which will probably be forever.â
Mr. Mulligan scratched his head. âAfter you asked about that doll yesterday, I went to take another look at her. And itâs the darndest thingâsheâs more damaged than I thought. One of my workers must have laid her head on some wet wood stain. The back of her hair is just ruined. I donât know whoâs going to pay much for her now. I reckon if you need her that badly, I can consider eight dollars and forty-nine cents a fair price.â
âYouâve got a deal!â I shouted.
When Mr. Mulligan took down the doll, and showed me her âruinedâ hair, I got the best idea ever!
The time passed slowly at Miss Maggieâs that afternoon. When she asked me what was in the bag, I told her it was a secret and she mustnât look inside.
âArenât you mysterious today?â she teased.
When I got home, I raced to my room and unwrapped the doll. I took out my brown magic marker. I laid the doll down and spread out her hair on a piece of construction paper.
Then, very, very carefully, I colored all of her blond hair brown. The stained part disappeared and she was even more like the doll Miss Maggie remembered!
There was only one thing missing. I took my favorite and only party dress out of my closet and laid it on my bed. There, right at the neck, was a pink satin ribbon.
I cut it off with my safety scissors, being careful to cut just the threads that held it on, and not the dress. I tied it in the dollâs new brown hair. She was perfect! But what would Mom say when she found out about my dress?
On Saturday, we went to see Miss Maggie.
âEllie, what a surprise!â she said. For once, I think she meant it.
Mom and I marched in, singing, âHappy birthday to you . . .â I could hardly wait till the song was over to give Miss Maggie her present!
Miss Maggie carefully pulled back the tissue paper. When she finally saw the doll, her eyes filled up with tears.
âEllie,â she whispered, âwhere on Earth . . . â
âIs she like the doll that got broken?â I asked.
âShe is exactly like my doll,â Miss Maggie said, without once taking her eyes off the present. âBut where did you ever find her and how did you ever afford her?â
Mom was looking at me like she wanted to know the same thing, so I told them both the whole story. When I got to the part about my dress, I asked Mom, âAre you mad?â
Mom squeezed my hand and her voice cracked when she told me, âNo, sugar, Iâm not mad.â
A tear ran down Miss Maggieâs face and she said, âNow I know how it is possible that this doll looks just like the one I held in my arms exactly eighty years ago today. Both dolls were gotten from pure love. And love, wherever it comes from, always looks the same.â
The cake was delicious, and Miss Maggie said it was her favorite birthday yet.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
copyright © 2012 Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, Lisa McCourt, Pat Grant Porter, Bert Dodson, and Mary OâKeefe Young
ISBN: 978-1-4532-8029-4 (ePub)
Cover design by Andrea C. Uva
This 2012
âI really need that doll, Mr. Mulligan,â I said. âI have eight dollars and forty-nine cents to pay you right now, and I will help out in your store every weekend until I have paid the rest of the money, which will probably be forever.â
Mr. Mulligan scratched his head. âAfter you asked about that doll yesterday, I went to take another look at her. And itâs the darndest thingâsheâs more damaged than I thought. One of my workers must have laid her head on some wet wood stain. The back of her hair is just ruined. I donât know whoâs going to pay much for her now. I reckon if you need her that badly, I can consider eight dollars and forty-nine cents a fair price.â
âYouâve got a deal!â I shouted.
When Mr. Mulligan took down the doll, and showed me her âruinedâ hair, I got the best idea ever!
The time passed slowly at Miss Maggieâs that afternoon. When she asked me what was in the bag, I told her it was a secret and she mustnât look inside.
âArenât you mysterious today?â she teased.
When I got home, I raced to my room and unwrapped the doll. I took out my brown magic marker. I laid the doll down and spread out her hair on a piece of construction paper.
Then, very, very carefully, I colored all of her blond hair brown. The stained part disappeared and she was even more like the doll Miss Maggie remembered!
There was only one thing missing. I took my favorite and only party dress out of my closet and laid it on my bed. There, right at the neck, was a pink satin ribbon.
I cut it off with my safety scissors, being careful to cut just the threads that held it on, and not the dress. I tied it in the dollâs new brown hair. She was perfect! But what would Mom say when she found out about my dress?
On Saturday, we went to see Miss Maggie.
âEllie, what a surprise!â she said. For once, I think she meant it.
Mom and I marched in, singing, âHappy birthday to you . . .â I could hardly wait till the song was over to give Miss Maggie her present!
Miss Maggie carefully pulled back the tissue paper. When she finally saw the doll, her eyes filled up with tears.
âEllie,â she whispered, âwhere on Earth . . . â
âIs she like the doll that got broken?â I asked.
âShe is exactly like my doll,â Miss Maggie said, without once taking her eyes off the present. âBut where did you ever find her and how did you ever afford her?â
Mom was looking at me like she wanted to know the same thing, so I told them both the whole story. When I got to the part about my dress, I asked Mom, âAre you mad?â
Mom squeezed my hand and her voice cracked when she told me, âNo, sugar, Iâm not mad.â
A tear ran down Miss Maggieâs face and she said, âNow I know how it is possible that this doll looks just like the one I held in my arms exactly eighty years ago today. Both dolls were gotten from pure love. And love, wherever it comes from, always looks the same.â
The cake was delicious, and Miss Maggie said it was her favorite birthday yet.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
copyright © 2012 Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, Lisa McCourt, Pat Grant Porter, Bert Dodson, and Mary OâKeefe Young
ISBN: 978-1-4532-8029-4 (ePub)
Cover design by Andrea C. Uva
This 2012
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