There once was a child born who wasn’t quite “normal”
He played strange games and jumped a lot No one could control him
Each day he’d play and each night he’d scream
He didn’t want to take his bath and he didn’t want to go to bed
But one night when his mother tried to tuck him in He looked up at her with his big brown eyes and said
“Mommy, what is a friend,” ??? It took her a minute but she soon began to speak
And the boy sat up in bed
“Well,” she began “A friend is someone to play with and some one that is always there,”
The boy began to smile “I must buy one,” the boy said “ Do I have enough money,” ???
His mother chuckled “No, not all the money in the world could buy you a friend,” she said sincerely
The boy looked up at his mother in wonder
She noticed the puzzled look on his face and so she continued “Friendship is something earned between two people,” she explained
The boy knew that he didn’t quite understand but he nodded his head and went to bed without any fuss
That night he dreamed of a world full of “Friends” of all shapes and sizes and colors
He dreamed of old “Friends” and new “Friends”
Until the time the sun rose he dreamed of nothing but “Friends”
The next morning when the sun had risen up in the early sky the boy woke
Today he didn’t feel like himself He felt different
He did not want to be loud or crazy
This is a weird feeling, he thought
Then it hit him!
He had remembered what his mother had said the night before
So he gobbled down his cereal and drank his juice
Just in time for his mom to grab him as he tried to rush out the door
“Where are you going in such a hurry,” his mother questioned
“To make a friend,” the boy said with a smile
The boy walked out the door and down the sidewalk without hesitation
And soon found himself within viewing distance of the playground he always acted crazy at
There were many kids playing but when he began to approach them they all scattered
The boy was confused and hurt and he didn’t know what to do, so he played by himself and swung on the swings in silence
He sighed and pumped his legs harder on the swings trying to release his frustration
Then out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he had just seen another set of legs
Was he dreaming?
The boy dug his feet into the dirt and stopped the swing
And with a giggle the other swing stopped as well
The boy was bewildered because right there next to him a small girl stood and smiled up at him
She was wearing a light yellow dress that was ever so cute
And her long brown hair was pulled up perfectly in pig tails

The boy wasn’t sure if he was dreaming and so he tried to speak
But nothing came out, the girl just stood there and then she spoke
In a sweet tone she asked him why he had swinging
“We were having sooo much fun,” she chimed
The boy still looked at her with disbelief
“Come on friend,” the girl squealed with delight
“What did you just call me,” the boy asked
“Friend,” the girl repeated ever so softly
The boy smiled and for the first time he actually felt like he could be himself
And he thought
Mommy was right, you can’t buy friendship!