On a clear night. a Penny lay on the windowsill
of a young boy's bedroom. The boy was sleeping
sweetly, dreaming of the warm shawl he would buy
for his mother when he had gathered enough pennies.
"A penny saved is a penny earned", his father
always said and his father was always right. It
would require too many pennies to buy his mother a
winter coat.
The shawl would keep her comfortable
through the long winter to come ,and she would be
proud to wear it. It was a clear night, and the
penny looked at the silvery beams of the full moon
which was smiling down at it. The Moon was round
like the Penny but far more beautiful.
"How I wish I could be grand and silvery like the
Moon", sighed the Penny. "Then all the world would
see me!
The Penny looked around at the small room in which
it was. The thin, sleeping boy, the worn green
carpet, on old mended cap thrown next to thread-
bare shoes. It spoke to the Moon. "How I wish I
could be like you", he murmured wistfully.
Suddenly he heard a voice that seemed to come like
soft sound from all around him. Startled, the
penny looked around and saw nobody but the
sleeping boy. "I am an old Moon", said the voice.
"Therefore I am also very wise and know everything
there is to know."
"How can that be?" asked the Penny."You are
beautiful, I know. But you are so far away, to be
admired for your lustre and your gentle light.
Knowledge, however, comes from close observation."
"If I can see everything, I can know everything",
said the Moon, rather smugly, and prepared to
close the subject as a cloud came drifting by.
"No, Moon, listen to me", said the Penny. " There
is much to know of things you cannot see..."
The Penny was upset. True,it was faded and dull
from use and handling by rich and poor alike. It
envied the Moon its beauty and the self-assurance
the Moon displayed but it could not agree that the
Moon knew everything.
"Have you ever been inside a poor man's pocket?"
asked the Penny. "Have you ever been tossed into
the gutter? I can see the stars from the gutter,
better than you can because you are too close to
them. Have you heard the clinging and the clanging
of a cash register? "Of course not," said the Moon
quite loftily."Why would I be interested in things
like that?"
"Have you ever seen the extravagant inside of a
rich man's house? Or heard the rich man's pretty
young wife demanding more diamonds? Have you been
inside the gray shacks of the poor where cold and
famine rule supremely? Have you seen young lovers
with shining eyes? Lovers have no time for you,
Moon, they only look at each other, and their love
trandescends all other things. Love is a wondrous
emotion, and I have known it. How much you have
missed, Moon!"
The Moon grew thoughtful and did not answer.
Isolated in its beauty, it really knew nothing of
these things. Actually, it did not understand why
such trivia should be of any significance. Was
the Moon not admired by all? Musicians and poets
had written about it's light, and many people
believed that the Moon had mystical powers.
Finally, the Moon thought of a reply.
"I give pleasure and that should be enough", said
the Moon. "Is pleasure not what all people seek?"
The penny was aghast.
"My dear Moon, pleasure is not an end in itself!
How is it that you think that pleasure is enough
for a mother who cannot feed her child? For a
husband who has no money to buy medicine for his
ailing wife? For a young man and a young girl who
love each other desperately but are kept apart
because the young man has no money? While rich
men eat more than is good for them, poor men -
with their hungry bellies -look for work to earn
pennies like me to feed their families. I really
think I must be quite important because people
have need of me, even though I may be plain and
small."
"Oh, Moon", continued the Penny. "I wish
your beams were made of real silver and could
spread warmth to those who are cold. Why are you
not more like the Sun? The Sun gives light and
warmth and makes all things grow."
At the mention of the Sun, the Moon became
jealous. "The Sun is foolish", declared the Moon
caustically. "It withers nature and opens plants
too hastily. It has no patience such as mine. It
makes people lazy and self - indulgent by warming
them too much. Only when I come ,are people
relaxed and happy. Do not speak to me of the
silly Sun."
The Penny was sad. How could he make the Moon
understand that the earth needed them both - Sun
and Moon?
"There is a time for joy and work" tried the Penny.
"But there is also a time for contemplation and
rest. Moon, the balance of the universe is
important to every living thing.'
"I have travelled widely",the Penny continued."I
was there when men wept because of injustice. I
was there when avarice controlled their souls. And
I was there when kindness and generosity
flourished. Have you seen sacrifice when a young
child gave his last piece of bread to a beggar
who was faint from hunger? With my friends, I
could wipe away the tears of children who suffered
from need. I was there when a boy in love bought
a bunch of violets for his beloved when she was
to marry another the same day and I still feel
his tears on me.
No Moon, what you have seen of life is little.
Even though you are beautiful, you know nothing
of life, and therefore you know nothing at all. I
am sorry for you." Daylight was breaking. After
such a trival conversation, the Moon wrapped
itself into a white cloud and prepared to
withdraw.
The little boy was stirring in his bed.
And the Penny? The little Penny was weeping
softly. The windowsill became quite wet with its
tears. It had been an admirer of the Moon but
knew now that the moon was distant and cold and
uncaring. The disillusionment was hard to bear.
A ray of sunshine entered the small room. It
looked at the Penny, and it knew what had taken
place because it was never far away, even during
the night. Gently , it kissed the Penny's tears
until each one shone like a precious diamond.
There were sapphires, emeralds, pure white
diamonds on the windowsill now. The little Penny
stopped weeping when it felt the warmth of the
sun. Amazed, it looked around at the diamonds.
From where had they come? "They came from your
heart, little Penny," smiled the sun-ray. "You
may be plain and worn but you have a heart of
shining gold." "Can that be true?",cried the penny
in delight, "Then I am not as insignificant as I
had thought!"
The boy awoke and saw the brilliant colours on
the windowsill. He called for his mother who had
been waiting with his porridge.
When she came up, the boy gathered the diamonds
and gave them to her. "Is it coloured glass? How
lovely it must be!" said the mother gently to her
only child. "Mother, I will take them to the
jeweler around the corner." The boy had trouble
breathing from the excitement. "They are jewels, I
just know." "Jewels..." sighed the mother. "That
would be grand indeed. We would eat chicken
tonight... with peas and carrots."
They are for you, Mother," said the boy solemnly.
"But I will take them to the jeweler." The jewels
were more magnificent than the old jeweler had
ever seen , and he gave the boy a sackful of shiny
new pennies for just one of them.
That night, the boy and his mother had a delicious
chicken on the table. There were also dishes of
peas, carrots, and potatoes. Father, who was bent
from arthritis from working long and heavy hours
in the sawmill, came to the table. He could barely
believe his eyes. There was fire in the hearth,
and a bunch of violets graced the feast. The
mother could not see them ,although they smelled
so sweet.. But she was smiling because of the
excitement and joy she sensed in her dear little
family. "Who could ask for more?" she said,
content and basking in the warmth of her loved
ones. How excited they were!
The mother was happy even though she was blind.