{"id":208,"date":"2013-12-14T02:51:51","date_gmt":"2013-12-14T02:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/?page_id=208"},"modified":"2013-12-14T03:21:38","modified_gmt":"2013-12-14T03:21:38","slug":"the-dollar-coin-that-laughed","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/?page_id=208","title":{"rendered":"The Dollar Coin that Laughed."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mary Jane was cross. \u201cNext Sunday we are having a missionary collection, and\u00a0 <\/span>we have to bring some money. I don\u2019t have any to bring.\u201d<\/span> \u201cI thought I saw a dollar on your dresser this morning,\u201d said her brother.<\/span> \u201cOh yes, but I\u2019m saving up for a good paint box, and I can\u2019t spare any of that!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSelfish kid,\u201d he said.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Jane was about to make an angry reply when Uncle Joe looked up from his paper. \u201cWant to hear a story?\u201d M<\/span>ary Jane loved stories, and so did her brother, although he was two years older than her. This is the story Uncle Joe told\u2026…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0O<\/span>nce upon a time there was a shiny dollar coin. It was born in the big mint. It said to <\/span>itself, \u2018Oh, I hope I\u2019ll be of some use in the world. I hope I won\u2019t spend my life for n<\/span>othing. Wonder where I\u2019ll go first.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> A well-dressed man came to the bank, and the dollar was given to him for change. <\/span>How excited the dollar was. \u2018It\u2019s my first chance to do some good!\u2019 <\/span>It rode home in the man\u2019s pocket. At the gate two children met him. \u2018Give us a dollar <\/span>for an ice cream,\u2019 they said, and the father handed each a dollar coin \u2026one of them <\/span>being our little friend. <\/span><\/p>\n

So his next trip was to the store. He was disappointed, and <\/span>tears came to his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u201cI wanted to do some good in life, and here I\u2019m being spent for a cone that will be <\/span>eaten up in five minutes.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe shop man put him in the till, and the dollar dried his tears and waited. He did not h<\/span>ave to wait long. The shop man\u2019s daughter came into the store. \u2018Give me a dollar for <\/span>carfare; it\u2019s too hot to walk,\u2019 said she. So the dollar was dropped into the car man\u2019s <\/span>box.<\/span> \u201cThis is not so bad,\u2019 murmured the dollar. \u2018I have saved her a long hot walk.\u2019\u00a0 \u00a0But w<\/span>hen the girl got off at the end of three blocks, he felt sorrowful again.<\/span> \u00a0\u2018I haven\u2019t done much,\u2019 he sighed.<\/span> \u201cThat night he went home in the car man\u2019s pocket.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0As he sat at supper, the man said\u00a0 <\/span>to his wife, \u2018Tomorrow is Dot\u2019s birthday. We\u2019ll give her a dollar for every year she is <\/span>old and let her spend it as she likes.\u2019<\/span> \u201cSo he counted out ten dollars, and our friend was one of them. All night it lay under <\/span>Dot\u2019s plate along with the others, a shiny row. He talked to the dollar next to him, “Oh,\u00a0I<\/span> did want to be useful, and I seem to have done nothing with myself so far.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The other dollar sniffed \u2018Once I felt that way, but I\u2019ve given up hoping.\u2019<\/span> In the morning Dot exclaimed with delight when she saw the row of shining dollars, <\/span>\u2018Goody, I know what I\u2019ll buy.\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>So the dollar along with the others, were taken to the store and exchanged for a string of beads.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Our dollar was so discouraged that he rolled away into a corner of the till.\u00a0<\/span> \u2018Is all my life to be wasted on things that don\u2019t last?\u2019 he cried. <\/span>It was at least an hour before he was able to take any interest in anything. Then he <\/span>heard the door of the store open and the shop man\u2019s voice,\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018Hello, Betty, how\u2019s everything?\u2019<\/span> And he heard a little girl say, \u2018Not so good; Mother\u2019s sick, and Brother\u2019s lost \u00a0his job.\u2019<\/span> \u2018Well, now, that\u2019s bad,\u2019 replied the store man. \u2018You do have the worst of luck of anyone I know.\u2019<\/span> \u2018But Mother says that health may be lost, and jobs, but we have got something that can\u2019t be lost.\u2019<\/span> \u201cNow, what might that be?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s love.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, well, that’s true. What was it you were wanting?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFifty cents\u2019 worth of hamburger,\u2019 said the little girl.<\/span> \u201cHere it is, and here\u2019s a dollar\u00a0 to spend for yourself. No, don\u2019t thank me. Just get <\/span>something you really want.\u2019 And so our friend, the dollar, found himself held in a hot, <\/span>little hand. The girl was poorly dressed, but neat and clean. As soon as the store <\/span>door closed, she started running, and ran all the way home. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Into the home she burst, <\/span>\u2018Mother, here\u2019s the hamburger, and what do you think, Mr. B. gave me a dollar just <\/span>for myself.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u201cOh, a whole dollar!\u2019 exclaimed the other girls sitting by their mother\u2019s bed. \u2018What are you going to do with it?\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s get some candy,\u2019 said one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut Betty replied, \u2018I have another plan. I\u2019ve never had anything but cents before to give to the Lord, so I\u2019m going to put this into my missionary box.’<\/span> \u00a0\u2018What a good idea,\u2019 said her mother. \u201cSo out came the missionary box, in went the dollar, and as it dropped down in the darkness it laughed a dollar laugh, \u2018My life is not useless after all!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncle Joe stopped.<\/span> \u00a0\u201cI never heard a dollar laugh,\u201d said Mary Jane.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s because you never put a dollar in the missionary box,\u201d replied Uncle Joe. \u201cWhat happened to the dollar after that?\u201d Mary Jane wanted to know.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt went to the missionary society and helped buy a Bible for a boy called Sing Lee. What country do you think he lived in?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u201cSounds like a Chinese laundry name to me,\u201d replied Mary Jane.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u201cYes, he lived in China, and he never had a Bible before. And what happened then?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Listen:\u00a0” and Uncle\u00a0Joe sang this little song…..\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou sent a dollar across the sea; T<\/span><\/i><\/span>hat bought a Bible for young Sing Lee, <\/span><\/i>And young Sing Lee, when he\u2019d read therein, T<\/span><\/i>hen \u00a0turned \u00a0his back on all his \u00a0sin”.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mary Jane was cross. \u201cNext Sunday we are having a missionary collection, and\u00a0 we have to bring some money. I don\u2019t have any to bring.\u201d \u201cI thought I saw a dollar on your dresser this morning,\u201d said her brother. \u201cOh yes, but I\u2019m saving up for a good paint box, and I can\u2019t spare … Continue reading The Dollar Coin that Laughed.<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":49,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-208","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P69z0J-3m","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/208\/revisions\/212"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblestudies4you.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}