NOVEMBER 29: The Gun-Metal Watch
“A very rich and spoiled little girl,” said daddy, “owned a gun-metal wrist watch. It kept very bad time, and she had it mended again and again.
“One day she went and had it fixed for the very last time, she said, and several days afterward the watch would not go for more than a half hour at a time. She took it back to the watch mender and was told that the only thing that could be done would be to have new works put in it. She said the watch wasn’t worth that and she was so annoyed that she threw the watch into the first ash can she saw.
“Well, there passed by a very poor little girl. On top of the ash can she spied a paper with funny pictures, and she grabbed the paper out of the ash can, and then, to her amazement, she saw the little watch.
“She ran all the way home to show it to her daddy, for her daddy had often mended watches for people just as favors, as his real business was that of a fruit dealer.
“When her daddy saw it he said:
“‘This watch has been fussed with so much that it is no wonder it refuses to go. I will see that it goes.’ And sure enough he did.
“The watch went beautifully, and the little poor girl wore her gun-metal watch with the greatest pride.
“Every one had to ask her the time, of course, every few minutes so she could look at her watch, and if they didn’t ask her the time often enough she would tell them of her own accord.
“Now, the little rich girl was given a gold watch as a present from her daddy, but it didn’t give half the pleasure that the little gun-metal watch gave the little girl whose very own daddy mended the watch for her.”