Puppies for sale

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.  He painted a sign advertising the pups  and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.  As he was driving the last nail into the post,  he felt a tug on his overalls.  He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly, followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner  the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up.

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer he said, "You see, Sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.
"How much?" asked the little boy.
"No charge," answered the farmer, "there's no charge for love."

*****
 

Another, slightly different version:

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read 'Puppies for Sale.' These signs had a weird way of attracting children. And sure enough, a little boy appeared at the sign.

"How much are you going to sell those puppies for?" he asked.

The store owner replied "Anywhere from $30-$50."

The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37, can I have a look at them?"

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind.

Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said "What's wrong with that little dog?"

The man explained that when the puppy was born, the vet had said that it had no hip socket and would limp for the rest of its life.

The little boy got really excited and said "That's the puppy I want to buy!"

The man replied "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I'll give him to you."

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the man's eyes, pointing his finger and said, "I don't want you to give him to me. He is worth every bit as much as the other dogs and I'll pay the full price. In fact, I'll give you $2.37 now and 50 cents every month until I have him paid for."

The man countered, "You really don't want to buy this puppy. He is never going to be able to run, jump and play like other puppies!"

To this the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the man and said, "Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands." 

In life, it doesn’t matter who you are, but whether someone appreciates you for what you are, accepts you and loves you unconditionally.

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks away.

 

(Dan Clark, from "Chicken Soup for the Soul", Copyright 2000 Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen)