A farmer had some puppies he needed to
sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups. And set
about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was
driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his
overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little
boy. "Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat of the back of
his neck,
"These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of
money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into
his
pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the
farmer.
"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a
whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and
down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of
fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link
fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed
something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another
little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the
ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup
began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the
runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son,
you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and
play with you like these other dogs would." With that the little
boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling
up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel
brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a
specially made shoe.
Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't
run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up
the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little
boy. "How much?" asked the little boy.
"No charge," answered the farmer, "There's
no charge for love."
