， herealizedthatshelookedfamiliar， ， shedrewfromherpurseapackagelooselyunwrappedinitsredpaper， .
"Didthiscomefromyourshop？" sheasked.
Peteraisedhiseyestohersandansweredsoftly， "Yes， itdid."
"Arethestonesreal？"
"—butreal."
"Canyourememberwhoitwasyousoldthemto？"
"'sChristmaspresent."
"Howmucharetheyworth？"
"Theprice，" hetoldhersolemnly， "isalwaysaconfidentialmatterbetweenthesellerandthecustomer."
"？"
"Shepaidthebiggestpriceanyonecaneverpay，" hesaid."Shegaveallshehad."
， ， thelittlepackagelyingonthecounter， thequestionintheeyesofthegirl， andthestrangefeelingofrenewalstrugglingunreasonablyintheheartofPete， allhadcometobebecauseoftheloveofachild.
"Butwhydidyoudoit？"
Heheldoutthegiftinhishand.
"It'salreadyChristmasmorning，" hesaid."Andit'？"
Andso， tothesoundofmanybellsandinthemidstofhappypeople， PeteRichardandagirlwhosenamehehadyettohear， walkedoutintothebeginningofthegreatdaythatbringshopeintotheworldforusall.
