A Miracle

   

  Sally was only eight years old when she heard Mommy and Daddy talking about her little brother, George. He was very sick and they had done everything they could afford to save his life. Only a very expensive surgery could help him now ... and that was out of the financial question. Sally heard Daddy say it with a whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."
    
     Sally went to her bedroom and pulled her piggy bank from its hiding place in the closet. She shook all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times. The total had to be exactly perfect. No change here for mistakes. Tying the coins up in an old handkerchief, she slipped out of the apartement and went to a drug store. She waited for the pharmacicst to give her attention. But he was too busy talking to another man. Sally twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. She cleared her throat. It didn't work. She finally took a quarter from its hiding place and banged it on the glass counter.
"What do you want?" The pharmacicst asked in an annoyed voice. "I'm talking to my brother."
     "Well I want to talk to you about my brother," Sally answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's sick... and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon," said the pharmacist.
"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 can't help you."
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. Just tell me how much it costs."

     A well dressed man stooped down and asked, "What kind of miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Sally answered. A tear started down her cheek. "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my parents can't pay for it...so I have my money.
"How much do you have?" Asked the well dressed man.
"A dollar and eleven cents," Sally answered proudly. "And its all the money I have in the world."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the well dressed man. A dollar and elevent cents... the exact price of a miracle to save a little brother. He took the money and said " Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents."

     That well dressed man was Dr.Carlton Armstrong, renowed surgeon specializing in solving George's malady. The operation was completed without charge. George was home again and doing well.
Mommy and Daddy were very happy.
"That surgery is like a miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost." Mommy whispered.
Sally smiled to herself. She knew exactly how much a miracle costs...one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.