The shoeshine kid

Jimmy came from a very poor family. He worked a little shoeshine stall in the early times of America. He worked there to help his family with  money. It was not much, and his father being the proud man he was, would never take it. So when his father would leave the house he would give it to his mother and she would tell his father some story of how she got the money. Jimmy felt very bad for his father because he worked his fingers to the bone for very little pay. Jimmy just felt proud to give what he could. Jimmy did not go to school, but in those days a lot of children did not go to school to help out around the house. The days he did go to school he usually got teased for having old clothes with holes and tattered shoes. He got in many fights. When he would come home he would tell his father about what happened to him that day. He would tell him to just keep standing up for himself and that it will not be like this forever. He would say that God put this family on earth to do wonderful things, somehow that always made him feel better. One day on his way to school he just decided that this day he would shine shoes. He was set up at his booth and this man sat upon the chair. He did like most, making small talk and asking him about his family. Jimmy knew he was poor, but the way he talked it sounded very much like he was proud of who he was. The gentleman asked Jimmy if he would do him a favor. Jimmy looked at him confused but said he would help if he could. The man said that he was from out of town and he was leaving tomorrow but he really needed to pick up an envelope but did not have the time to get it. He said that he would need to have it at the train station at 9:00a.m. because he was leaving for business. The man said that he would pay him for the job but Jimmy said that the train station was very close to his house and it would be no problem. The man told him where to pick up the envelope. Jimmy finished with his shoes and told he man that he would see him a little before nine. When Jimmy was done for the day with shoes he when to pick up the envelope. On his way home he started to wonder what was in the envelope because it was not sealed. He got home and told his father about the gentleman and his request. Jimmy pulled out the envelope to show his father and dropped it. As it fell, it opened and a bunch of money fell out. Jimmy had never seen that much money before in his life and was pretty sure his father had not seen that much before either. Jimmy said that they were rich but his father said that it was not their money and he would do the job that he said that he would do. They both put the money in the envelope and his father told him to give it to the man in the morning and not to take a single dollar. As Jimmy walked to the station he thought about all the things that money could buy. He got to the station and went to where the man was standing. Jimmy slowly handed him the envelope. The gentleman looked at the envelope and seen that it was open. He asked Jimmy if it was all here. Jimmy said that he dropped it and all that money spilled out. He also told him that his father helped him put it back and said to do the right thing. The gentleman said why didn't he just keep the money because if he would not have come the gentleman would not have seen him again. Jimmy said that his father told him that it would not be right to keep money that was not theirs and that a man has to work for what he has. The gentleman was taken by surprise with the honesty the child possessed. The gentleman asked if Jimmy could get his father so he could thank him distilling such values in him. Jimmy returned with his father. His father asked the gentleman if everything was ok and if all the money was still there. The gentleman laughed and told him that he had passed the test. Jimmy's father looked surprised and said what test. The gentleman said that he needed someone to work for him that he could trust and they were the first people that passed the test. The gentleman said that he was very wealthy and he wanted to offer him a job. The gentleman said that if he took the job that they would no longer have to worry about anything. Jimmy's father got a big smile and politely accepted.