A young eight-year-old girl once went into an exclusive jewelry retailer seeking to buy something. Not used to such a young shopper, the proprietor went over to “help” her young client find what she was looking for. “That watch,” the young girl pointed to with confidence. “I brought money with me, if you’d like to know.”
“Oh, great,” the owner asked her. “How much do you have?”
“I have seven shekels and eighty agurot.”
The owner didn’t disclose how much the watch she wanted to buy actually cost, but instead asked her why she wanted to buy it. She responded that she wanted a gift for her older sister, who had been raising her and her five siblings singlehandedly after both their parents had passed away. “Today’s her birthday,” the girl said, “and from my hakaras ha’tov, I want to show her our appreciation. I think she’d really like that watch.”
Hearing this the owner said: “Oh, well then, I’ll give it to you for seven shekels and eighty agurot.” The girl happily took the watch home, excited to have something to present to her sister.
Several hours later, the sister came into the store to return the watch. “My sister came home with this from your shop. I don’t know how she got it, but I’m sure she didn’t pay for it.”
“But she did!” the owner replied. Then she told the older sister how the young girl had explained why she came to “buy” the watch and why the owner had “sold” it to her for the reduced price.
This incident shows how, despite not having the means to obtain the article on her own, after doing her half, Hashem took care of the rest.
