The Star Coins

On a soft evening, a little girl named Elsa walked across the meadow. The sun was sinking behind the hills and the sky turned pink and gold. In her arms she carried a little bundle: a warm loaf of bread, a pair of soft mittens, a gentle shawl, and a little wool cap. 'I wonder who I will meet tonight,' whispered Elsa, and she smiled.

Soon she met a tired traveler who said, 'I am so hungry.' Elsa held out her warm loaf of bread, and the traveler smiled: 'Thank you, dear little girl.' A little further on stood a small boy shivering in the evening air. Elsa slipped off her soft mittens and gave them to him. 'Thank you,' the boy whispered, and his little hands grew warm again.

By a path sat a little girl with no shawl. Elsa wrapped her own soft shawl around the girl's shoulders. 'So warm,' the girl whispered. A bit further on stood a tiny child with a bare head in the evening cool. Elsa lifted off her little wool cap and gently set it on the child's head. Her bundle was empty now, but her heart was full.