·Jennifer Roberts·

Tess was eight years old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother ， Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn ^’ t have the money for both the doctor bills and the house payment.

Only a very costly surgery could save her brother now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. She heard her Dad say to her Mom ，“ Only a miracle can save him now. ”

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. She counted it three times. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap ， she slipped out from the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall ^’ s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

Tess waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too intently talking to another man to be bothered by an eight-year-old at this moment. She twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.

Nothing.

She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.

Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

^“ And what do you want? ^” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. ^“ I ^’ m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven ^’ t seen in ages. ^” he said ， without waiting for a reply to his question.

^“ Well ， I want to talk to you about my brother. ^” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone ，“ He ^’ s really ， really sick ， and I want to buy a miracle. ^”

^“ I beg your pardon? ^” said the pharmacist.

^“ His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So ， how much does a miracle cost? ^”

^“ We don ^’ t sell miracles here ， little girl. I ^’ m sorry but I can ^’ t help you. ^” the pharmacist said ， softening a little.

^“ Listen ， I have the money to pay for it. If it isn ^’ t enough ， I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs. ^”

The pharmacist ^’ s brother stooped down and asked the little girl ，“ What kind of a miracle does your brother need? ^”

^“ I don ^’ t know. ^” Tess replied with her eyes welling up ， ^“ I just know he ^’ s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation ， but my Daddy can ^’ t pay for it ， so I want to use my money. ^”

^“ How much do you have? ^” asked the pharmacist ^’ s brother.

“ One dollar and eleven cents. ” Tess answered barely audibly ，“ And it ’ s all the money I have ， but I can get some more if I need to. ”

“ Well ， what a coincidence. ” smiled the man. “ A dollar and eleven cents... the exact price of a miracle for little brother. ” Then he said ，“ Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let ’ s see if I have the kind of miracle you need. ”

The pharmacist ’ s brother was Dr. Carlton Armstrong ， a surgeon from Chicago who specialized in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn ’ t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Later ， Mom and Dad were talking about the chain of events that had led them to this. Her mom said ，“ That surgery was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost. ” Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... One dollar and eleven cents... plus the faith of a little child.

詹妮弗·罗伯茨

8 岁的苔丝听到爸爸妈妈谈论小弟弟安德鲁的事 。 她只知道弟弟病得很重 ， 他们家的钱都花光了 。 下个月他们就要搬到合租的公寓去了 ， 因为爸爸已经没钱同时支付弟弟的医疗费和房租了 。

救弟弟需要高昂的手术费用 ， 而且似乎也没人会借给他们钱 。 她听爸爸跟妈妈说 ：“ 现在只有奇迹能救他了 。”

苔丝走进了自己的房间 ， 从壁橱里隐秘的地方找出一个装果冻的玻璃罐子 。 她把里面所有的零钱都倒在地板上 ， 仔细地数了起来 ， 一共数了三遍 ， 数目必须得准确 ， 这样就不会出错了 。

她小心翼翼地把硬币装回罐子 ， 拧上盖子 ， 然后悄悄从后门溜了出去 ， 走过六个街区来到 ^“ 雷克索 ^” 药店 ， 这家药店的大门上挂着大大的印第安酋长的红色标志 。

苔丝耐心地等着药剂师能注意到她 ， 可那时药剂师正忙着与另一个人说话 ， 根本顾不上理这个 8 岁的孩子 。 她在地板上蹭着脚 ， 摩擦出声来 。

没用 。

她用她能发出的最让人厌恶的声音清了清嗓子 。 还是没用 。

最后她从罐子里拿出一枚 25 分的硬币 ，“ 当 ^” 的一声扔在玻璃柜台上 。 这回管用了 ！

^“ 你想要什么 ？” 药剂师不耐烦地说 ，“ 我正在和我的弟弟说话 ， 他从芝加哥来 ， 我们好多年没见了 。” 他不等她回答就接着说 。

^“ 我想跟你说说我的弟弟 。” 苔丝也同样不耐烦地答道 ，“ 他病得很重很重 ， 我想买一个 ^‘ 奇迹 ’。”

^“ 你再说一遍 ？” 药剂师说 。

^“ 他叫安德鲁 ， 他脑袋里长了个坏东西 ， 我爸爸说现在只有奇迹能救他 。 那么 ，‘ 奇迹 ^’ 要多少钱 ？”

^“ 我们这儿不卖 ^‘ 奇迹 ’， 小姑娘 。 对不起 ， 我帮不了你 。” 药剂师说 ， 语气柔和了许多 。

^“ 听我说 ， 我有钱买 。 如果这个不够 ， 我会再给 ， 你就告诉我要多少钱吧 。”

药剂师的弟弟俯下身 ， 问苔丝 ：“ 你弟弟需要什么样的奇迹 ？”

^“ 我不知道 ，” 苔丝的泪水夺眶而出 ， 回答说 ，“ 我只知道他病得非常厉害 ， 妈妈说他需要手术 ， 但是爸爸付不起手术费 ， 所以我想用我的钱 。”

^“ 你有多少钱 ？” 药剂师的弟弟问 。

^“ 一块一毛一 ，” 苔丝回答的声音别人几乎听不到 ，“ 这是我所有的钱 ， 但是如果需要 ， 我还可以再弄点来 。”

^“ 真是巧啊 ，” 那人笑了 ，“ 一块一毛一 …… 正好是治好你弟弟的 ^‘ 奇迹 ^’ 的价钱 。” 然后他说 ，“ 带我去你家 ， 我想看看你弟弟 ， 见见你父母 。 咱们看看我有没有你所说的 ^‘ 奇迹 ’。”

这个药剂师的弟弟是卡尔顿·阿姆斯特朗医生 ， 芝加哥神经外科手术的专家 。 手术没要一分钱 ， 没过多久 ， 安德鲁就回家了 ， 而且恢复得很好 。 后来 ， 爸爸妈妈又谈起这件事的来龙去脉 ， 妈妈说 ：“ 这个手术真是一个奇迹 ， 它到底需要多少钱呢 ？” 苔丝笑了 ， 她知道这个奇迹的确切价格是 …… 一块一毛一 ， 再加上一个孩子的信念 。

实战