Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Mum or dad, of course,
provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and aunts are always a
source of extra income. With some children, small sums go a long way. If fifty
pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money
boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box. For most of
them, fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.#
My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty. Very few of the
fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way
there. I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead he
bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop, he
dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared
down a drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his
right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his fifty pence piece
anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out. A crowd of people
gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George
was firmly stuck. The fire brigade was called and two fire fighters freed
George using a special type of grease. George was not too upset by his
experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles
and rewarded him with large box of chocolates.&