Bobby was sitting out in his back yard in the snow. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, his mother worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. They ran the household in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. It was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Bobby started to walk down to the street. He walked from shop to shop. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark, then suddenly his eyes caught a shiny dime. Never has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby did at that moment. He went inside a flower shop. When the owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower. The shop owner looked at Bobby, then said, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." The shop owner returned holding red roses all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner placed them gently into a long white box. "That will be ten cents, young man," said the shop owner, reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Then the shopkeeper's wife appeared. "Where are the roses you were fixing?" The shop owner replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was." What could he buy with a dime then?
A flower. Nothing. A piece of cake. Many flowers.