The Little Black Book

Ms. Daisy was an elderly woman who lived alone. She had children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. One particular grandson, Lewis would check on Ms. Daisy more often than the others. He would sit and talk to her for hours at a time. He would do some grocery shopping for her every now and then on the weekends. He would also clean her home when she was unable to do so. He would clean every room and area in her home. He wouldn't miss a spot. Ms. Daisy was a lover of books. She enjoyed reading books. She had a particular bookshelf where she kept her favorite books that had a significant meaning to her. Lewis wasnt quite a reader, he could read but he just wasn't a fan of reading. One day while cleaning, Lewis noticed that most of the books on Ms. Daisy's shelf were large in size. However there was a small, black book that appeared to be more worn than the larger books. He asked his grandmother, Miss Daisy why does she read the little, black book more than the others? She replies, "The biggest treasures are in the smallest containers." Lewis decided that whatever was in that book had to be good because his grandmother read from it everyday and placed it back on the shelf after reading it. As days and years went by, Lewis continued to notice how Ms. Daisy embraced this book.

A few years later, Ms. Daisy became ill and the doctors weren't expecting her to live any longer. The family came from far and near to visit Ms. Daisy. Ms. Daisy began to share with her family that she wanted to give her book from her collection to each of her grandchildren, one of their choice. So as the grandchildren took a look at her bookshelf, most of them wanted the huge books that appeared to be interesting because of the size of the book and the many, colorful interesting pages. Lewis was the last to choose a book however when his turn came to choose, the only book that was left was the small, black book. The other grandchildren began to laugh at Lewis and made fun of his book. "Such a small book to read, it should take you all day to read it," they said. "Your book only has seven little pages Lew, I'm sure you will find much information from it", they laughed. Lewis was embarrassed and hurt from all the teasing. He took his book and went to bed.

The next morning Ms. Daisy inquired about her books, she desired to know which book did each grandchild receive. Each grandchild shared the name of the books they chose. When it was Lewis's turn, the cousins burst out into laughter. Ms. Daisy asked, "Lewis, what book did you choose?" Lewis responded, "The only book that was left, the small, black book". Ms. Daisy smiled, laid back onto her pillows, pulled up her blankets and said, "The biggest treasures Lewis, come in small containers". She smiled at Lewis and then she closed her eyes. Lewis looked at the small, black book in his hand and went to bed.

The next morning was a sorrowful morning, Ms. Daisy had passed away in her sleep. Family members were sitting around the living room, some were talking and laughing while some were eating and planning for Ms. Daisy's funeral arrangement. Not Lewis, he was grieving, he missed his grandmother. Later that evening, those who received books from Ms. Daisy began to talk about their books they had chosen from the bookshelves. Some tried to exchange their books and some talked about donating their books to charity. Not Lewis, he held onto his book. He never opened the book, he just held it tightly to his chest for it reminded him of his dear grandmother. Michael, the oldest grandchild asked Lewis what was his book about. Lewis replied, "I have no clue." Some people began to laugh hysterically, someone said, "Why not, it will only take you two seconds to open it and two seconds to read it." The entire room burst out into laughing. Another cousin yelled, "Come on Lewis read your little book to us." Lewis became frustrated and impatient, however he wanted them to get off his back, so he opened the book. When Lewis opened the book, it read on the inside covering, "He who humbly accepts a small gift shall forever reap a harvest". There were seven pages in this book and on each page there was a word. The first page read, "The." The second page read, "biggest". The third page read, "treasures." The fourth page read, "come". The fifth page, read, "in". The sixth page read, "small". Finally, the seventh page read, containers." As Lewis turned the seventh page, there was a check for $20,000 made out to Lewis. With that check was a note from Ms. Daisy, it read, "To my grandson Lewis, I knew you would be in receipt of this book because of your interest in it. You're like me, we're interested in those things that are usually thrown away or passed down. You're a special type and because of your humility and gratitude take this treasure from such a small container and use it wisely. God bless you even more this day than ever before. Signed Grandma Daisy.

As Lewis read the note out loud and the check still in his hand, the room became quiet. No one laughed. No one spoke a word, everyone just sat in amazement. Lewis picked up his check, grabbed his small, black book and told everyone goodnight. Someone asked, "Hey Lewis, how much was the check written for"? Lewis replied, "A big treasure in a small container". Lewis chuckled and humbly walked out the door. The end