A boy and his boat.

Once upon a time a little boy build a little toy sailboat. He would take it to the park every day and sail the little boat on the pond. He liked watching it coast around in the breeze. Because he loved the Boat, he was pretty careful not to let it go too far out in the pond where he could not get it back.

But one day, the inevitable day came when the boat sailed beyond where he could reach it. He got himself soaked trying, but the boat had gone out too far for the boy to rescue it. He went home heartsick, expecting he would never see the boat again.

But a few weeks later, he was walking through town when he saw his boat in the window at the little secondhand shop. He was so excited! He went into the store and said, "You've found my boat! I made that boat! It's mine and I'd like to have it back! But the man behind the counter said, "Well, maybe it was your boat once, but its my boat now -- and if you want it, you'll have to pay me $20.00 for it."

"TWENTY DOLLARS!" The boy said. It seemed like an enormous amount of money. He had no idea how he could come up with that much cash. He started to hang his head and walk out of the store, but the man said, "If you'd like to earn a little money, I could use some help around here."

And so it was agreed. Every week the boy would come and sweep floors and tidy up the shelves, and the man would give him a few dollars. Finally, the day came when he brought this pocket full of crumpled bills to the store and brought his boat back. He was thrilled.

As he walked out of the store, holding his boat like a long lost friend, he said, "You're mine twice now! You were mine the first time I made you; and now you're mine again because I bought you!"