Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow.  Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any.  The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of  keeping out the cold.  Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour  already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is
useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough.  She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning  could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity.  Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the household in their mother's absence.  All three of his  sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.  Somehow it  just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.  Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down  to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six  without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked
from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed  so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark and Bobby  reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer  of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb.  He  reached down and discovered a shiny dime.
 
Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.  As  he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body  and he walked into the first store he saw.  His excitement quickly turned  cold when salesperson after salesperson told  him that he could not buy  anything with only a dime.
 
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line.  When the shop owner  asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could  buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at  Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his  hand on Bobby's shoulder
and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."  Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a  boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.  The sound of the door closing as the last customer left, jolted  Bobby  back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.  Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow.  Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently  into a long white box.  "That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his  hand for the dime.  Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime.