The Prettiest Angel
For the past 20 years I have spoken to all kinds of
audiences in the character of Benjamin Franklin, complete
with costume. One day after a school assembly, I was
visiting a fifth-grade classroom to answer questions. One
student raised his hand and said, "I thought you died." This
was not an unusual question and I answered it by saying,
"Well, I did die on April 17, 1790, when I was 84 years old,
but I didn't like it and I'm never going to do it again."
I immediately asked for any other questions and called
on a boy at the back of the room who raised his hand. He
asked, "When you were in Heaven, did you see my mother
there?"
My heart stopped. I wanted the floor to open up and
swallow me.
My only thought was, don't blow this! I realized for an
11-year-old boy to ask that question in front of all of his
classmates, it had to either be a very recent occurrence or
of utmost concern. I also knew I had to say something.
Then I heard my voice say: "I'm not sure if she is the
one I think she was, but if she is, she was the prettiest
angel there."
The smile on his face told me that it was the right
answer. I'm not sure where it came from, but I think I just
may have had a little help from the prettiest angel there.
By Ralph Archbold
from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty
Hansen |
