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Synopsis |
Text Analysis |
Explanation of the Title |
Questions for Consideration |
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The Gift of Understanding
13.
My mother scolded me about taking the trip alone when she found me out. I don¡¯t think it ever occurred to her to ask about the financial arrangement. I was simply cautioned not to go again unless I asked first. I must have obeyed and, evidently, when permission was granted for me to make the trip, a cent or two was given me for my purchases, since I don¡¯t remember using cherry seeds a second time. In fact, the whole affair, insignificant to me then, was soon forgotten in the busy occupation of growing up.
14.
When I was six or seven years old my family moved to another city where I grew up, eventually married and
established my own family. My wife and I opened a shop where we bred and sold exotic fish,. he aquarium
trade was then still in its infancy,T and most of the fish were imported directly from Asia, Africa and South
America. Few species sold for less than five dollars a pair.
15.
One sunny afternoon a little girl came in accompanied by her brother. They were perhaps five and six years old.
I was busy cleaning the tanks. The two children stood with wide, round eyes, staring at the jeweled beauties swimming
in the crystal-clear water. ¡°Gosh,¡± exclaimed the boy, ¡°can we buy some?¡±
16.
¡°Yes,¡± I replied. ¡°If you can pay for them.¡±
17.
¡°Oh, we have lots of money,¡± the little girl said confidently.
18.
Something in the way she spoke gave me an old feeling of familiarity. After watching the fish for some time, they asked me for pairs of several different kinds, pointing them out as they walked down the row of tanks. I netted their choices into a travelling container and slipped it into an insulated bag for transport, handing it to the boy. ¡°Carry it carefully,¡± I cautioned.
19.
He nodded and turned to his sister. ¡°You pay him,¡±he said. I held out my hand, and as her clenched fist approached me I suddenly knew exactly what was going to happen, even what the little girl was going to say. Her fist opened, and into my palm she dumped three very small coins.
20.
At that instant I sensed the full impact of the legacy Mr. Wigden had given me so many years before.
Only now did I recognize the challenge I had presented to the old man, and realize how wonderfully he had met it.
21.
I seemed to be standing again in the little candy shop as I looked at the coins in my own hand. I understood the innocence of the two children and the power to preserve or destroy that innocence, as Mr. Wigden had understood those long years ago. I was so filled up with the remembering that my throat ached. The little girl was standing expectantly before me. ¡°Is¡¯t it enough?¡± she asked in a small voice.
22.
¡°It¡¯s a little too much,¡± I managed to say, somehow, over the lump in my throat
¡°You have some change coming.¡± I rummaged around in the cash drawer, dropped two pennies into her open hand, then stood in the doorway watching the children go down the walk carefully carrying their treasure.
23.
When I turned back into the shop my wife was standing on a stool with her arms submerged to the elbows in a tank where she was rearranging the plants. ¡°Mind telling me what that was all about?¡± she asked. ¡° Do you know how many fish you gave them?¡±
24.
¡°About 30 dollars¡¯ worth.¡± I answered, the lump still in my throat. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t have done anything else.¡±
25.
When I¡¯d finished telling her about old Mr. Wigden, her eyes were wet, and she stepped off the stool and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek.
26.
¡°I still smell the gumdrops,¡± I sighed , and I¡¯m certain I heard old Mr. Wigden chuckle over my shoulder as I cleaned the last tank.
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