“THE MIRACULOUS FIFTY DOLLAR GOLD PIECE” How one act of kindness transformed many lives one magical Christmas Eve PLUS a special poem by Mary Oliver!
A Wonderful story in our special series…DAYS OF MAGICAL and MIRACULOUS CHRISTMAS STORIES for children of all ages PLUS A sweet Audible Podcast version narrated and performed by Chinmayan!
This is our WEEKDAY edition of THE DAWNING LIGHT NEWS # 1247
Our FREE version of our “Daily Journal of Transformational Writing”
CHILD PEACE STORIES Section # 39
Inspiring READ ALOUD STORIES for children of all ages…
Selected, edited and published by Chinmayan…May your Christmas be bright, loving and full of kindness and miracles of every kind as these magical stories for you and your family and everyone on earth!
All images in this story courtesy of Pixabay
ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL SERIES OF “CHILD PEACE STORIES”TO CELEBRATE THE LOVING HEART OF THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
To celebrate this Christmas Holiday season,
we are publishing 24 heart opening and inspiring stories
That I have collected over many years to share with you.
Today’s story is ”THE MIRACULOUS THE FIFTY DOLLAR GOLD PIECE”
A Wonderful true story in our special series…DAYS OF MAGICAL and MIRACULOUS READ ALOUD CHRISTMAS STORIES for children of all ages…
One great story everyday from now until Christmas!
THE FIFTY DOLLAR GOLD PIECE:
How One Special Act Of Kindness Transformed Many Lives On Christmas Eve
By L. Cameron
In Amsterdam there lived a wealthy merchant and his wife who were very devout Christians.
Every year at Christmastime they would contribute thousands of dollars to hospitals and the poor.
But this year they wanted to do something different, something that had never been done before, something that would last a long time and make everyone involved more thankful for their blessings.
They thought and thought with little success until one day the merchant’s wife conceived of a brilliant plan. “I have it, I have it!” She exclaimed.
When the plan was explained, Hans admitted he could not have invented a better one himself. “Perfect,” he concluded, “just perfect! We shall begin immediately.”
The following day there appeared a strange and unbelievable notice in the newspaper which read: “Mr. and Mrs. Hans Holberg are offering a fifty-dollar gold piece to the first person to stand at their door at daylight on the morning of December 24th, Christmas Eve.”
That was all. The readers could not believe their eyes.
“The notice must be a mistake,” thought some. “Who would be so foolish as to give away a fifty-dollar gold piece to anyone who comes to the door? And what is the purpose in such a strange proposal?
Only the educated can read and only the wealthy can afford the news-it certainly is not meant to help the poor”. . . and many such thoughts went through the minds of the readers.
The Holberg family was well-known all over Holland for their generous contributions to charity-but this seemed incredible!
Some thought they were getting senile and others thought it was a prank. But there it was in big, bold print--A FIFTY-DOLLAR GOLD PIECE—only for the asking!
Now, the first person to stand at the door was indeed one who needed more riches as a dog needs more fleas.
For the person waiting first in line when the door was opened on Christmas Eve was none other than Joseph Adler, a moneylender, who lived in the wealthiest district of Amsterdam.
At any rate, he was by no means the kind of person you would expect to find waiting at someone’s door for a handout.
But there he was, and the Holbergs could not deny him what they had promised.
Joseph Alder was invited in and the gold piece was taken from its container, a bluish, silver goblet, and slipped into the hand of its new owner.
“One moment,” cautioned Mr. Holberg, before Adler could reach the door. “We require just one stipulation and believing you are an honest man, we are sure you will comply with this simple request. We give you this gold piece on one condition-that if you should meet someone within a week who is less fortunate than yourself, you will give the coin to that person with the same instructions we have given you.”
Adler nodded his head. “That is all. Thank you for coming.”
Joseph Adler was happy now that he had camped all night on the Holberg porch, and yet he was disturbed at the prospect of losing the coin to someone else.
“Well,” he thought, “Mr. Holberg did not say if I should find someone less fortunate, but if I should meet someone less fortunate.”
And thus went his thought to ways and means he could devise to avoid such an unfortunate happenstance.
“Maybe,” he thought, “I can pretend an illness—then I shall not meet one such person—then I can honestly keep this coin without a guilt!”
But to Joseph Adler’s surprise, even before he reached his home by alleys and seldom-traveled byways, he noticed a friend, or rather, a friend noticed him, even with Adler’s face partly tucked inside his overcoat.
He at first tried to ignore this friend, who was by no means poor but still less fortunate than himself; for this man’s wife had recently died, leaving no mother for his seven children.
Adler soon realized, however, that he could not ignore his friend, and, with much hesitation, decided to comply with the condition he had agreed upon.
So, giving the same instructions he had received from the Holbergs, he handed the coin to his surprised friend, Franz Freiburg, and continued on his way.
Franz, who had been feeling sorry for himself, was now feeling uplifted for the first time since his wife died.
For he was a jolly sort who loved to sing and dance and make jokes. But over the past few months, he had not told a single joke, or laughed, or even smiled.
“Today,” he said to himself, “I think I shall smile again. Life is not so bad after all—I still have my business, a nice home, and seven wonderful children.” And squeezing tightly the fifty-dollar gold piece, he too began to whistle as he walked.
But coming toward him was his uncle’s wife, the widow Freiburg, and without much thought he realized the coin could no longer be rightfully his.
For she had not only lost her husband, as recent as six years before, but in that time had also lost her only child—a son, her sister, and her mother.
And although she had been at one time an opera singer of great renown and a very pleasant person: now, with so many misfortunes falling upon her at once, she had turned bitter and was known only as a cantankerous old woman who held little praise for anyone.
And so, it was with her meeting of Franz. Before he could open his mouth to announce the good news, she was scolding him like a mother hen.
“You, Franz Garret Freiburg, you dare to speak to me! You, who have children and a business and a church and attend to none of them! I have not seen you at the church door since you were a child—and what would your wife think, if she were alive, seeing you here on the street like a vagabond at this hour of the morning—and on Christmas Eve with your seven little ones at home! Indeed! Well, what do you have to say for yourself!”
And such was her castigating him until at length he was somehow able to speak his peace and pass on the fifty-dollar gold piece.
“I don’t want your . . . “she tried to yell but could see it was no use as he had turned the corner and disappeared.
She would have to keep the coin she finally decided. “Anyway,” she thought, “this coin does not belong to Franz but to the benevolent Holberg family, (which was one of the few families she found above reproach).
But unlike the other two, the widow Freiburg was not so naïve as to think she could keep the coin; for she was a good person at heart and realized there were many who needed the gold piece more than herself.
So off she went about her day and was soon relaxing in her favorite chair—humming a tune she had not sung for many years.
In the evening, there came a knock at the door, and supposing it was her brother’s family coming to share the Christmas spirit, the widow Freiburg hurried to the door.
But there instead was a chimney sweep, a young man of about twelve years who was so covered with soot she thought he could do a better service by cleaning himself.
Her chimney had been recently cleaned and upon telling him this, he wrinkled up his face and turned to leave, when she grabbed his arm and pressed the shiny coin into the palm of his hand.
Astonished and very much perplexed, he inquired the reason for such an act of extreme generosity.
She then told the story of the coin’s beginning and the one condition, which he promised to remember and keep.
So glad was the chimney sweep that his feet hardly touched the ground as he ran to meet his friend. The two sweeps met as they always did on the steps of the Westerkerk, and then began the long walk home, discussing their nightly adventures.
Simon always saved the best news for last, but tonight he could hardly wait to tell his friend . . . but then he realized that there beside him was one even less fortunate than himself.
Peter had only one leg, the other was a peg, and Peter’s family, the Hannesburgs, were even poorer than his own.
The father Hannesburg had been ill for eleven years and his wife and ten children were fed and clothed on the meager amounts procured from a family fruit stand and Peter’s chimney sweeps.
Overwhelmed and nearly speechless, Peter thanked his friend for this most welcome gift and hurried home to inform the rest of the Hannesburgs.
“For who could be poorer,” he asked himself, “and more in need of this gold piece than those of my own family?”
Their home was barely adequate for five, much less twelve, and the ancient wood and bricks that held it together for over a century were finally beginning to crumble.
They had no heat and depended solely on the rags that Peter’s mother and sisters could obtain from the church to sew together for blankets.
The Hannesburgs stayed awake nearly all that night discussing their newly found treasure—stating over and over again how this was the happiest Christmas they had ever spent.
For what could be greater than a fifty-dollar gold piece that equaled as much as the whole family could earn in several months and as much as Peter could earn in a year by sweeping chimneys! Oh, what a great thing the Lord had blessed them with!
Heidi wanted a doll. She had wanted a doll of her own since she was three; and although she was past the age when most girls play with dolls, she still wanted on more than anything.
She didn’t really care what kind as long as it was hers and she didn’t have to share it with anyone. She could dress it anyway she pleased and snuggle up to it at night and show it off to her friends. Oh, how thankful she was for the fifty-dollar gold piece!
William was so excited he could hardly contain himself thinking about the color and shape of the bicycle he wanted. He couldn’t wait until the day he could pick out just the perfect one and proudly ride it home. What a thrilling day it would be!
Peter wanted a fishing reel. He had carved his own pole and all he needed now was a reel to have an outfit lit the other fellow—boy he’d show those guys how to fish! And so went the thoughts of each child as they dreamed of their most treasured hopes.
The parents too had dreams. They were thinking of the family’s future and how they could make each child a little happier. The children were so good to help and all they received for their labors was a run- down house and barest necessities.
But now, now, they could finally show them how much they really appreciated them!
“Let’s see,” they planned, “we could give each of the younger children two dollars and each of the older children three dollars. That would still leave six dollars to repair the leaky roof, twelve dollars for a new fruit stand, and nine left over for savings and emergencies! What a blessed day!”
On the following day, Christmas, it was customary for numerous unfortunate souls to go about the city seeking charity from those who could afford to give.
Some were blind, some crippled, and others were retarded in the mind.
They would offer to do what they could in the way of household chores but most often the donor would simply drop a coin in their cup and thank the Lord that he was not that unfortunate soul.
And not one of these blind or crippled souls had ever approached the home of the Hannesburgs—at least, not until that very day.
Mr. and Mrs. Hannesburg had called the family together in their tiny anteroom to announce how they might divide the money, when a knock was heard at the door.
When the door was opened, they could hardly believe their eyes—for each of them knew the condition with which the coin was given and each was thinking the same thought: “Why did this beggar have to come here! For surely there are thousands of homes he would never visit and why couldn’t ours be one of these!”
But the beggar’s maimed hand and white cane kept staring them in the face.
What an unfortunate soul the lord had sent to their doorstep! One both blind and crippled!
The room was as quiet as a coffin. No one stirred. Each of them seemed as transfixed as a wax figurine.
Finally, Mrs. Hannesburg slowly made her way to the door; and with much hesitation, carefully slipped the heavy coin into the beggar’s cup.
When the coin was explained and the beggar had turned to leave, the eyes of each were filled with tears as they thought of the plans they had made. William thought of his bicycle-he only wanted a used one! The others were thinking similar thoughts and feeling sorry for themselves.
As they watched the blind beggar struggle down the steps and grope to find his way, a peculiar change came over them.
They suddenly realized how selfish they had been and how unfortunate this beggar really was. “Surely no one could be less fortunate than this! Surely the coin will go no further!”
When the door was closed a piercing hush filled every corner of the room and a sweet, peaceful feeling penetrated the heart of everyone.
It was then they realized that each of them could see and hear and use his arms and legs; it was then they realized how much God had blessed them!
Now you may think that this is the end of the story—that the blind beggar kept the coin.
But this is not the case, for you see, the blind and crippled beggar did not think himself the least fortunate of all, for he befriended a leper who had no kin to watch him and . . .
THE END
My friends, I have a question for you today!
Of all the Christmas Stories I have published so far in this special series, which one(s) did you love and find helped or inspired you the most?
I would love to hear your answer in the comments….
Meanwhile, may this be one of the most wonderful and amazing days of your life!
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