Lucy & The Tablet Device - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

Once upon a time but not far back in time at all, there lived a pretty little girl in a really lovely place called California. The little girl’s name was Lucy and she was a devoted Christian girl.

Lucy wanted a handheld tablet device more than any other material thing in the world. She didn’t want it for any of the wrong reasons that other girls her age would want it which is to show off. She wanted it so that she can have an entire library of books at hand, a cool way to check her e-mails and communicate with reasonable friends as well as family, and also update her blog where she shares her tiny little nuggets of wisdom with the world.   

Lucy’s Mum had told her that she was just too young to have a tablet device. She was still in kindergarten and some folks in junior high don’t even have tablet devices.   

Lucy talked to her Mum for hours pointing out the reasons why she needed a tablet device: The ease of storing and reading books on a tablet device, the ease of buying books, the helpful apps that actually are useful and improve your efficiency as opposed to filling your tablet with computer game apps which doesn’t add anything to your life.   

Lucy won her Mum over when she informed her that there was a free app she would download & install that would protect her from accessing inappropriate and visually immoral content online.

Lucy’s Mum told Lucy that even though she now doesn’t see any reason why she can’t buy Lucy a tablet device seeing that she intends to use it for the right reasons, there is still the question of the money.   Therefore, at the end of the day Lucy still wasn’t going to get any tablet from her Mum.

Lucy decided that she would save money for it in her piggy bank. It might take a long time but at least that way she would be doing something to get what she wants, it certainly beats doing nothing.

While walking down a street many months later, Lucy saw an old beggar sitting on the sidewalk. He looked like he hadn’t eaten in months. People ignored him and went right past him as he begged them to put some money in his empty little bowl. Lucy felt pity for him, the more she looked at him the more she was filled with compassion for him. Lucy didn’t have any money to give him at that moment but she remembered the money that she had been saving up to buy the tablet device. It was far from enough money for it’s purpose and taking out even a little part of it would even lengthen the time would be able to get a tablet device.   

Lucy decided to walk away and forget about the hungry beggar but then she remembered the sermon from last Sunday about doing unto others how we would want them to do unto us, she just couldn’t make up her mind to not help him.   

Lucy knew what was the right thing to do. She knew that if she was the one who was sitting on the sidewalk with no family (that cares), shelter or food. She would definitely want someone whose got some food to give her some.   

Lucy walked home and emptied out her piggy bank. She put all the money in her pocket then walked out of the house to find the beggar on the sidewalk. When she found him she give him all the money that she had been saving up.   

The beggar recognized her as someone who had passed him before. That was when he figured out on his own that the girl must have gone home after seeing him in other to bring back money for him. The beggar couldn’t believe it, nobody had ever been so kind to him. He spoke some words of blessings to Lucy and thanked her over and over again.   

Lucy left feeling happy. She had seriously lengthened the time-frame of her ever getting a tablet device yet she was happier than ever. She was full of that joy that you have when you know you’ve done the right thing in-spite of the advantages of doing otherwise.

Two days later, a limo pulled out in front of Lucy’s parents house. Lucy was in shock, no one her or her parents knew had a limo to the best of her knowledge. Who ever could it be?

The chauffeur stepped out the car and headed to the back door then opened it. To Lucy’s surprise out came the beggar.   

It so happened that the money that Lucy gave him was used by him to buy some food along with a soft drink that happened to be doing a 10 million dollar promo, and it just so happened that he bought the very bottle of the soft drink that had the winning card inside. He was now a millionaire and one of the first things he wanted to do was to thank the little girl that showed him kindness by showering her with gifts.   

He gave Lucy boxes upon boxes of gifts plus enough money to pay for her entire education from kindergarten to University. And guess what? One of the very many gifts that Lucy received that day was a brand new tablet device. Hallelujah!

THE END.