Price Of A Miracle

Tess was a precocious¹ eight-year-old girl when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the money for the doctor’s bills and our house.

Only a very costly² surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.”

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster³.

No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages, “he said without waiting for a reply to his question.”

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle.”

“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist. “His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”

“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening⁴ a little. “Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”

The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” “I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up.

“I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.

“One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents ― the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. “He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten⁵ and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

“That surgery,” her Mom whispered, “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?” Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child.

听爸爸妈妈谈起小弟安德鲁的事情时，苔丝已是一个早熟的8岁小女孩。她只知道弟弟病得很厉害，父母却无钱给他医治。下个月他们要搬到一个公寓房，因为爸爸已经无力支付医药费和我们的房款。

“现在唯一可以救他的办法就是做手术，但手术费用非常昂贵，没有人肯借钱给我们。”她听到爸爸对满含泪水的妈妈低声而绝望地说：“现在只有奇迹可以救他了。”

苔丝回到房间，从壁橱一个隐藏的地方拿出一个玻璃瓶子，把里面所有的零钱倒在地上并仔细数了3次，直到确定无误。

她仔细地把硬币放回瓶子并把盖子拧好，悄悄地从后门溜出去，穿过六条街区，来到门上有红色印地安语大标志的Rexall药店。

她耐心地等待着药剂师，可是药剂师非常忙，并没有注意她。苔丝扭动着她的脚弄出摩擦的声音，没有反映。她大声地清清嗓子，还是没反映。

最后，她从瓶子里拿出个2角5分的硬币摔在玻璃柜台上，弄出清脆的响声。成功了!“你需要点什么?”药剂师不耐烦地问，“我要去接我的弟弟，他从芝加哥来，我们很多年没见了。”他没等苔丝说话就接着说起来。

“我想跟你说下我弟弟的事情。”苔丝回答，“他真的病得很严重……我想为他买个奇迹。”

“你说什么?”药剂师问到，“他叫安德鲁，他病得很厉害，爸爸说现在只有奇迹能救他。所以，请问奇迹多少钱?”

“我们这里不卖奇迹，小女孩，很抱歉不能帮助你，”药剂师稍带温和地说。

“听着，我有很多钱，如果这里的不够，我就回去取剩下的，请告诉我奇迹多少钱?”

这时候，药剂师的弟弟来了，他是个穿着很得体的男人。他问小女孩“你弟弟需要什么样的奇迹呢?”“我不知道，”苔丝的眼泪涌了上来。

“我只知道他病得非常厉害，妈妈说他需要做手术，但是爸爸支付不起手术费，所以我想用我自己的钱。”

“你有多少钱?”这个从芝加哥来的男人问。

“一美元十一美分，”苔丝用很勉强才能听到的声音回答。“这是我所有的钱，但是如果不够的话我再想办法。”

“刚刚好，”男人笑着说，“一美元十一美分 ―― 正好可以为你弟弟买个奇迹。”他一手拿着小女孩的钱一手紧紧握住她的手说“带我去你住的地方，我想去看看你弟弟和你的父母，看看我是不是有你们需要的奇迹。”

这个穿着得体的男人就是卡尔顿•阿姆斯壮，著名的神经外科医生。手术没有支付任何费用，安德鲁回家后不久就康复了。爸爸和妈妈高兴地谈论着这件事情。

“这个手术真的是个奇迹，奇迹到底需要多少钱呢?”母亲低声自语。苔丝笑了，她知道奇迹的真正价值：一美元十一美分，加上一个小女孩的信念。