Save It <augh>

Today is my birthday. I'm turning ten. I dream of all the wonderful presents I will get.

My mother is so generous. She gives me parcels with all kinds of fun things inside. There is a doll, a guitar, some pencils, and even a camera, and a guitar. I am so lucky!

Dad puts a great big box in front of me. 'Happy birthday my dear daughter,' he says. I rip open the lid. It is just a clay donkey with a slot in it's back. Father has given me a money bank.

He sees my pout. 'What was it you were hoping for?' he asks me. 'A new phone?' I say, uncertain. He gives me some money. 'This can go towards it then. Put it in your bank and keep saving.'

I put the note into the back of the clay donkey. It does feel nice to have the money sitting there with the promise to build up more.

My sister gets the same pocket money as me. She spends it all very quickly because she likes to buy her friends lunch. It is not her birthday though, so she didn't get extra.

She asks me if she can borrow the money father gave me for my birthday so she can go out the next day. Her pocket money is nearly gone, and she had been caught short.

She is annoyed when I show her the clay bank and tell her the money is already in there. I can't get it out without breaking my birthday present. My mother hears this and gives me a smile. She didn't want me to give my sister my birthday money.

It felt so good to put in the money and to keep it safe from my sister. So every time I get a spare bit of change, I pop it through the narrow slot in the clay donkey's back. The donkey gets heavier every day.

The next week I move to a new school. I get a nice new uniform in the school colours. Right away, I make a new friend. She isn't wearing her uniform. 'Are your clothes in the wash?' I ask. She tells me her family is poor. They can't afford to buy her a uniform. I feel bad that she stands out in her plain clothes. It's not her fault her family isn't as lucky as mine.

Then I have an idea. When I get home, I smash open the money bank and count all the coins and notes inside. I have saved quite a lot. Suddenly a new phone doesn't seem so important.

I use the money to buy my friend a uniform of her own. Now she looks like part of of the school. 'I am very lucky,' she says, 'because I have a friend like you!'