The True Meaning of Happiness

By Debi H.

Once upon a time in a country far away lived a loving mother and father with their two children, (Betty & Freddie).

The father was very wealthy and owned several acres of land with five dozen cattle. The family lived in a large farmhouse with a fireplace in each room and running water from a pump set in the kitchen.

The parents loved their children very much, giving them anything that their hearts desired, if Betty wanted a dollhouse made from the finest teakwood in Japan, her father would have it imported. If Freddie wanted an Arabian horse, he too would have it. Betty and Freddie were growing quite spoiled and began to behave mean & nasty.One day a little girl from the orphanage wanted to play with Betty and Freddie. Freddie laughed at her for the way she dressed and Betty laughed at the way her hair was pulled back with straw rope. Neither one wanted to play with a girl who looked so terrible. The little girl walked away with tears swelled in her eyes. She wasn't upset that Betty or Freddie didn't want to play with her, she was sad because Betty and Freddie thought that money made you happy and better than anyone else who didn't have any.The very next day, the little girl again asked them if they wanted to play at her home, the orphanage, Betty and Freddie laughed at the thought. The little girl told them of great places to play hide -n- seek, which aroused their curiosity, Betty and Freddie agreed to come over and play.Later on that afternoon, Betty and Freddie walked over to the orphanage to play with the little girl. As they walked into the building, they saw many children running about in moth eaten clothes. All of the children were laughing and having fun. Betty and her brother were very surprised to see laughter because they thought that money made you happy. The children were not wealthy and yet they were laughing and playing. Betty asked the little girl why they were happy and the little girl replied "money doesn't buy you happiness" you see happiness comes from within and having the best toys and clothes really doesn't make you happy, just greedy, until you have so much that you turn mean. Betty and Freddie looked at each other and realized that they weren't really happy no matter how many toys they owned. They both knew that they turned mean and nasty. Betty started to cry and wanted to go home. Freddie had walked Betty home and thought of a way to make them truly happy. He explained his plan to Betty and the very next day, Betty and Freddie returned back to the orphanage carrying a large cloth bag, inside the bag they had put all of their toys, they gave all of the children a toy of their own. The children were so very happy and that made Betty and Freddie very happy. From that day on Betty and Freddie were no longer selfish and mean. They both learned what true happiness meant and were very thankful to the little girl who showed them.