A Nickel and a Dime.

I found a nickel on the ground.  Tarnished and covered with dirt and grime.                                 I know not where it came, but it was found by me.  Finders, keepers.

A little blonde haired, blue eyed girl approaches a wrinkle-faced man. “Mister, did you   find my nickel?  It was there, over there.  I need it back for me to keep.  Finders, keepers.”

“Little girl, here’s your nickel, but you can’t keep it.  You must pass it on.                                    It’s meant to travel.  Leave it somewhere for someone else to find.”

“But, it’s my nickel. I do not want to give it away.  It goes with two others and that makes three.  Fifteen cents.  I need one dime more, then I will  spend it for an ice cream cone.”  The wrinkle-faced man said, “So, it’s for an ice cream cone.  What’s your flavor?”  “Fudge Ripple.  A ribbon of chocolate all throughout.  Just what a little girl needs.”

Wrinkle-faced man says, “Little girl, ribbons of chocolate for you to eat? I thought ribbons were for little girl curls.  Once nickels are spent, you have no more.”  “Okay with me.  It’s just what I wanted.  The delight of chocolate within my soul.  Mmm, the taste of it all.  Now, give me a dime for ribbons of swirl.”

The wrinkle-faced man said, “Again, little girl, it’s not for you to keep.  You must pass it along for someone else to keep.”  “Someone else to keep and not me?”  “Yes, that’s where it must go.  It’s not meant for you to keep.”  “That’s not fair, I won’t let it go.  It’s mine.  Finders, keepers.”

“You may not know this, little blue eyed girl, but it has been said, once you find a nickel and pass it on , another may come your way.  Maybe two.”  The little girl said, “Really?              I need a dime then.  That will make it two nickels plus three nickels, enough for my ice cream cone.”

“Well, here’s a dime.  I found it, too.  But you can’t keep it.  It always travels with the nickel.”  Little girl said, “But it can’t go, I need it for me.  I want it now, please.”

The wrinkle-faced man said, “It seems hard for you to let things go.  You want  to hold on to the nickel and dime as if your life depended on them.”  “Please, no, I can’t let it go.  What will I do without my nickel and dime?”  “Well, what can you do without the nickel and the dime?”  “Nothing at all.  No ice cream cone, for sure.”

The smiling wrinkle-faced man said, “You know, an ice cream cone can come to you.”     “Really, how?”  “All you need do is ask for it.  No nickel or dime needed.”  The little blonde haired, blue eyed girl smiles and says, “May I have my ice cream cone, please.”    The wrinkle-faced man said, “Yes, here it is for you.  Double scooped with swirls and ribbons of chocolate just as you like.  Enjoy your ice cream cone, just for the asking.”

Moral of story:  sometimes you have to ask for what you need.  No need to hang on to a nickel and a dime.  All you need do is ask.  Now, how about an ice cream cone?