Tess was a precocious 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 costly 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 muster.
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, softening 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 mitten 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.
“現(xiàn)在唯一可以救他的辦法就是做手術(shù)，但手術(shù)費(fèi)用非常昂貴，沒(méi)有人肯借錢(qián)給我們。”她聽(tīng)到爸爸對(duì)滿(mǎn)含淚水的媽媽低聲而絕望地說(shuō)：“現(xiàn)在只有奇跡可以救他了。”
苔絲回到房間，從壁櫥一個(gè)隱藏的地方拿出一個(gè)玻璃瓶子，把里面所有的零錢(qián)倒在地上并仔細(xì)數(shù)了3次，直到確定無(wú)誤。
她仔細(xì)地把硬幣放回瓶子并把蓋子擰好，悄悄地從后門(mén)溜出去，穿過(guò)六條街區(qū)，來(lái)到門(mén)上有紅色印地安語(yǔ)大標(biāo)志的Rexall藥店。
她耐心地等待著藥劑師，可是藥劑師非常忙，并沒(méi)有注意她。苔絲扭動(dòng)著她的腳弄出摩擦的聲音，沒(méi)有反映。她大聲地清清嗓子，還是沒(méi)反映。
最后，她從瓶子里拿出個(gè)2角5分的硬幣摔在玻璃柜臺(tái)上，弄出清脆的響聲。成功了!“你需要點(diǎn)什么?”藥劑師不耐煩地問(wèn)，“我要去接我的弟弟，他從芝加哥來(lái)，我們很多年沒(méi)見(jiàn)了。”他沒(méi)等苔絲說(shuō)話(huà)就接著說(shuō)起來(lái)。
“我想跟你說(shuō)下我弟弟的事情。”苔絲回答，“他真的病得很?chē)?yán)重……我想為他買(mǎi)個(gè)奇跡。”
“你說(shuō)什么?”藥劑師問(wèn)到，“他叫安德魯，他病得很厲害，爸爸說(shuō)現(xiàn)在只有奇跡能救他。所以，請(qǐng)問(wèn)奇跡多少錢(qián)?”
“我們這里不賣(mài)奇跡，小女孩，很抱歉不能幫助你，”藥劑師稍帶溫和地說(shuō)。
“聽(tīng)著，我有很多錢(qián)，如果這里的不夠，我就回去取剩下的，請(qǐng)告訴我奇跡多少錢(qián)?”
這時(shí)候，藥劑師的弟弟來(lái)了，他是個(gè)穿著很得體的男人。他問(wèn)小女孩“你弟弟需要什么樣的奇跡呢?”“我不知道，”苔絲的眼淚涌了上來(lái)。
“我只知道他病得非常厲害，媽媽說(shuō)他需要做手術(shù)，但是爸爸支付不起手術(shù)費(fèi)，所以我想用我自己的錢(qián)。”
“你有多少錢(qián)?”這個(gè)從芝加哥來(lái)的男人問(wèn)。
“一美元十一美分，”苔絲用很勉強(qiáng)才能聽(tīng)到的聲音回答。“這是我所有的錢(qián)，但是如果不夠的話(huà)我再想辦法。”
“剛剛好，”男人笑著說(shuō)，“一美元十一美分 ―― 正好可以為你弟弟買(mǎi)個(gè)奇跡。”他一手拿著小女孩的錢(qián)一手緊緊握住她的手說(shuō)“帶我去你住的地方，我想去看看你弟弟和你的父母，看看我是不是有你們需要的奇跡。”
這個(gè)穿著得體的男人就是卡爾頓?阿姆斯壯，著名的神經(jīng)外科醫(yī)生。手術(shù)沒(méi)有支付任何費(fèi)用，安德魯回家后不久就康復(fù)了。爸爸和媽媽高興地談?wù)撝@件事情。
“這個(gè)手術(shù)真的是個(gè)奇跡，奇跡到底需要多少錢(qián)呢?”母親低聲自語(yǔ)。苔絲笑了，她知道奇跡的真正價(jià)值：一美元十一美分，加上一個(gè)小女孩的信念。
