465- Two Kids Pleasing their Mother

On the 25th of November, the beginning of the fast of the Nativity, young Therese said to her sister Caroline, “After forty days we will celebrate Christmas.”

“Do you mean the feast of the glorious Birth?”

“Yes, the word Christmas is a Coptic word formed of two parts: ‘Chris’ or ‘Christo’ meaning Christ, and ‘Mas’ meaning birth. This is similar to the word ‘Raamses’ meaning ‘birth of Raa’.”

“What are your projects for that feast?”

“I know that mother is having financial difficulties. So we could each save a little every day from our pocket money and put it in a piggy bank. When the feast day comes, we will not have to ask mother for presents. Each of us will buy a present for the other. This will allow us to get presents without burdening mother.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Before the end of December, Therese brought her piggy bank to Caroline at night. She closed the door of their room and opened her bank. She had fifteen dollars Caroline was very happy and told Therese that this would be enough to buy the Christmas present. She then opened her own piggy bank and counted out what she had saved. That came to seventeen dollars and a half. Caroline said, “Let us go shopping tomorrow and buy the gifts. What would you like to have, Therese?”

Therese was silent for a moment, then said, “I would like to make a suggestion.”

“What?”

“I know that mother wishes to see her mother, our grandmother, at Christmas time. However, she doesn’t have the money to buy the ticket. It would be great if we bought the ticket and sent it to grandma, and asked her to come over at Christmas time but without telling mother. This would be the happy surprise for her and for us.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.”

The two children hurried to the train station and bought the ticket. They then wrote a tender letter in which they said the following:

“Dear Grandma, We send you the peace of the Lord

We long to see you. Your coming and spending the feast with us would give us great joy. Our Christmas gift to you is a train ticket from your grandchildren

We are waiting for you. Pray for us.”

Therese and Caroline were very happy. Their mother noticed some kind of mysterious expression on their faces, so she asked, “I can see that you are not in your normal state. What is on your minds?”

They answered, “Nothing, mother. We’re just glad to be with you and rejoice that Christmas is close at hand.”

Every time there was a knock at the door, the girls would look out of the window to see if it was their grandmother. Finally, the grandmother did knock at the door, and the mother called out, “Therese, open the door”.

Therese said, “Mother, I beg you to open the door yourself as I am very busy.”

So the mother ran to open the door, expecting to find a neighbor in need for some help. But to her great surprise, she found her mother who had just come in from the train station. The mother was evidently overjoyed and greatly surprised. The grandmother then realized that her daughter knew nothing about what her grandchildren had done. She went over to them and hugged them while they felt ever so delighted.

The grandmother said to them, “Thank you for this Christmas present. You’ve sent me the ticket so I could come over and spend Christmas time with you.”

The mother said to the children in amazement, “Indeed, it’s I who should thank you for you’ve given me my Christmas present which is bringing my mother over to celebrate with us.”

As for the children, they chimed together, “We have to thank grandma for accepting the invitation and coming over. Her presence is the Christmas present for you, mother, as well as for us.”

In this happy atmosphere the grandmother opened her luggage and gave each child a beautiful and expensive frock that she had knitted herself. It had taken six months to get them finished. Therese and Caroline looked at each other and said, “We’ve offered a simple idea of travel and the Lord has given us a gift which we never dreamed of. Truly, the giver is more blessed than the receiver.”

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: طفلتان تسعدان أمهما.

Grant me, O Lord the ability not to ask for things for myself,

But to ask for things that others need.

Grant me to give joy to others, and then to rejoice for their happiness.

Let me give without seeking to take.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20.35).

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Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

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