A little girl makes fun of her needy classmate for not bringing a gift to the Christmas party, until her teacher shows her the letter he accidentally left on his desk.
All the little souls in the class were excited as they walked in with big, beautiful gifts in their hands. SECRET SANTA. The day has finally arrived.
All the children were eager to discover what their Santa had given them. But while the entire class was filled with a little joy, a little shyness, and a LOT of greed in the hope of getting the best gift, Bobby sat in the corner clutching an envelope, his eyes brimming with tears, feeling bad for himself…
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“So, kids,” said their teacher, Ms. Torres. “Are we all ready?”
“Yes, Mrs. Torres!”
A loud unison of squeaky voices filled the classroom, and Ms. Torres smiled.
“Okay, okay! So, let’s get started. Let’s see… who wants to go first?”
A child’s heart is tender, and love conquers it.
“Me! Me!” All the children were babbling with excitement, but Mrs. Torres’s gaze fell on Bobby, who was sitting quietly amidst all the chaos.
“Well,” she said after a pause. “I think Bobby can go first, and then we’ll follow… Bobby, are you ready, sweetheart ? “
The whole class turned to look at Bobby, but he didn’t even look up.
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“Are you okay, child?” Mrs. Torres asked kindly as she approached her desk. “You came up with the name of one of your classmates for the game, didn’t you?”
Bobby nodded slowly and said, “Sally. I have her name. But I don’t have a present for her… just a letter…”
“Oh, that’s okay! I’m sure Sally will understand!” said Mrs. Torres encouragingly. “How about you give it to her?”
That’s what Bobby did. He got up from his table, walked over to Sally’s, and handed her the letter.
“I’m sorry, Sally,” he said. “I don’t have a present for you, but I wrote you a letter.”
“You wrote, what?” she said rudely. “You couldn’t even get me a present? It’s Secret Santa, Bobby!”
“I’m sorry…” he said sadly. “I just… I couldn’t buy you one.”
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“I hate you!” Sally shouted. “I got your name! My dad bought you a nice present, but you didn’t get anything for me?”
“I bought you a letter,” said Bobby. “I made it myself! I drew Santa Claus and reindeer on it to make it look nice because you like reindeer.”
“Ugh!” cried Sally, disgusted. “It’s awful! And it’s so insignificant! I don’t want it, and I’m not going to give you the present! Look, everyone, Bobby is so poor he can’t even buy me a present!”
At that point, Mrs. Torres stepped in. “Sally, honey, that’s rude… It’s okay if you don’t want to accept Bobby’s letter, but you mustn’t be mean to him. Say sorry to him right now!”
“NO!” cried Sally. “I won’t! He ruined my day! It’s not my problem if he’s poor! He can go begging on the street!”
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Bobby returned to his seat in tears, and the whole class remained awkwardly silent. Ms. Torres told Sally that she would like to meet her parents the next day and asked the other children to continue the game.
At the end of the day, when everyone had left the classroom, Ms. Torres found the letter by chance. It was lying on Bobby’s table.
“Dear Santa… My wish,” the letter read at the top.
The curious teacher picked up the letter and sighed. “Sally was very rude to him today. He must have felt bad,” she thought.
Mrs. Torres read the letter, and when she finished, she couldn’t hold back her tears. She rushed out of the classroom to see if Bobby was still there, but she couldn’t find him. She saw Sally, however, and decided to have her read the letter.
“Sally!” she cried. “Will you join me for a moment, darling?”
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The little girl turned around and frowned. “Listen, Ms. Torres, if this is about Bobby, I don’t want to talk!”
“Sally,” Mrs. Torres said, approaching her. “You should read what Bobby wrote for you. I think you’ll change your mind, honey.”
Sally didn’t want to do it, but Mrs. Torres managed to convince her. When the little girl read the letter, she started to cry.
The letter said:
“I’m sorry, Sally. I’m the worst Santa ever! You’re a good girl, you’re my classmate, and I feel terrible that I can’t get you a present. Sally, my mom is very, very sick. Her heart is bad, and she can’t walk. She uses Grandpa’s old wheelchair to get around.
I had saved money for your present in my piggy bank, but I couldn’t use it for this purpose. I must give this money to Mom! It will do her good. When she’s better, I’ll ask her to buy you a reindeer. You like reindeer. I know that. I drew one for you in the back.
I wish you and your mom will always be happy. I hope you never see your mom sad. I hope she loves you. This is my wish to Santa Claus for you! I hope the real Santa Claus who loves all children will make all your dreams come true.
– Bobby”.
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“Is her mommy sick, Mrs. Torres?” Sally asked sadly as she finished reading. “I miss my mommy! She went off to be with the angels when I was a baby!”
“She is, darling,” said Mrs. Torres. “She is!”
“We have to help Bobby, Mrs. Torres,” Sally said. “I’ve been such a bad girl… I’ve been so bad, Mrs. Torres…” and Sally began to cry.
Ms. Torres hugged her. “Oh no, you’re not!” she exclaimed, stroking Sally’s soft hair. “You have a very beautiful heart, darling. You understand your friend’s situation and you want to help him. Here’s an idea: How about apologizing to him when he comes to school tomorrow? He’ll appreciate it.”
“I will, Mrs. Torres,” Sally sobbed. “I want to be a good girl!”
And Sally did. The next day, when Bobby came to class, she went up to him and said, “I found your letter after you left class, and I’m sorry, Bobby. I don’t have a mom, and I miss her so much, and I felt so bad…”
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Bobby gave him a smile, a big smile. “It’s good! Did you like the reindeer?” he asked.
She started laughing. “He was ugly!” she said, laughing. “But I loved him! Thank you!”
So Bobby and Sally became friends, but that’s not all.
Later that day, Sally and her father went to Bobby’s house with a bag full of gifts and an envelope.
“Sally and I would appreciate it if you would accept it on our behalf,” Michael, Sally’s father, said to Bobby’s parents, Linda and Derek. “Sally told me that Bobby’s mother is having heart surgery, and we’d like to help.”
Linda was taken aback. “We can’t accept all this… oh no, that would be wrong. You don’t have to do this.”
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“My wife is right,” Derek said. “We appreciate your concern, but we can’t accept this. It would be wrong.”
“Please,” Michael insisted. “I know the pain of seeing a loved one suffer… my wife died shortly after Sally was born. Please do this for us. We would be very grateful. Besides, it’s Christmas time, and consider this something Santa would want us to do.”
Michael convinced Bobby’s parents to accept the gifts and the envelope, which contained the money for Linda’s surgery. Once Linda recovered, their lives changed.
Sally no longer felt like she didn’t have a mother. She had found a best friend in Bobby and a loving mother in “Mama Linda.”
What can we learn from this story?
- A child’s heart is tender, and love conquers it . Sally felt bad about herself after discovering the real reason Bobby couldn’t get her a Secret Santa gift. She missed her mother and her love. She understood that Bobby felt bad seeing his mother struggling, so she apologized and decided to help him.
- You shouldn’t judge people until you know their side of the story . Sally felt bad about being mean to Bobby without knowing why he couldn’t get her a gift, and she apologized.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
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