Santa’s Helper

                                                                                                            By Marion Tickner

“What’s the matter, Emma?” Grandma asked. “Did you get hurt?”

“No,” Emma sobbed. “Matt is so mean. He thinks he’s smart and he told me there’s no Santa Claus. Grandma, is there a Santa Claus?”

Wonder if Grandma’s going to take me to see Santa, Emma wondered as Grandma drove to her favorite store. When they had parked, Grandma opened her purse and handed Emma a ten dollar bill.

“I’m coming in the store with you,” Grandma said, “but I want you to buy a gift for someone who has a need.”

Emma held the folded bill tightly in her hand as they walked together. What should I buy? Emma wondered. She headed to the toy section. They looked at dolls. Grandma had told her to buy for someone who has a need. She didn’t need any more dolls, but she would like a new one.

“Mom likes jewelry,” Emma said. Grandma walked with her to the jewelry counter. A glass case covered most of the jewelry, but a few bracelets were on top.

Grandma didn’t say anything, but Emma knew she had a big responsibility to spend that money carefully. Mom likes jewelry, but she has a lot. She doesn’t need any more.

Emma thought about Matt. Nobody liked him because he was mean and he didn’t have nice clothes. His father was out of work and his mother was sick and he had a new baby sister. She remembered how he’d thrown a snowball at a little kid, but he didn’t have mittens on. He needed mittens. Emma knew what she had to buy.

She picked out a pair of nice warm mittens for Matt and a small stuffed teddy bear for the baby. It took all the money Grandma had given her, but she didn’t care. Buying for someone else gave her a good feeling deep down inside.

Emma looked up at Grandma. She’d told Emma that she’d prove there’s a Santa, but they had only gone shopping. They hadn’t even seen Santa yet and now they were going home.

Grandma brought out her wrapping paper and ribbons and bows and helped Emma wrap the gifts. Emma wrote the tags and signed them “Santa.”

“Who is this boy who is so mean?” Grandma asked.

“Matthew. He throws snowballs without mittens on. I thought his hands might be cold. And he has a new baby sister. Babies like teddy bears. But what about Santa Claus, Grandma?”

“Emma, you are Santa’s helper.”  She picked up her almost worn-out Bible from the end table and opened it. “Matthew 25:40 says, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. Now let’s go play Santa Claus.”

Somehow Grandma knew how to get to Matt’s house. It looked kind of old and run down. Emma left the gifts in front of the door, rang the doorbell, and ran back to the car.