“And how can I help you，little lady？”
Pappy was a pleasant—looking old fellow．He had the whitest hair which he kept neatly cut and combed．His eyes were blue，though faded with age，and they seemed to emit a warmth from within．His face was quite drawn，but when he smiled，even his wrinkles seemed to soften and smile with him．He had a talent for whistling and did SO happily each day as he dusted and swept his pawnshop；even so，he had a secret sadness，but everyone who knew him respected and adored him．
Most of Pappy’S customers returned for their goods，and he did not do much business，but he did not mind．To him，the shop was not a liveli—hood as much as a welcome pastime．
There was a room in the back of his shop where he spent time tinke—ring with a menagerie of his own precious items．He referred to this backroom as“Memory Hall．”In it were pocket watches，clocks，and electric trains．There were miniature steam engines and antique toys made of wood，tin，or cast iron，and there were various other obsolete trinkets as well．Spending time in“Memory Hall”delighted him as he recalled man—Y treasured moments from his past．He handled each item with care，and sometimes he would close his eyes and pause to relive a sweet，simplechildhood memory．
One day，Pappy was working to his heart’S content reassembling anold railroad lantern．As he worked，he whistled the melody of a railroadtune and reminisced about his own past as a switchman．It was a typicalday at the shop．Outside，the Sun illuminated the clear sky，and a slightwind passed through the front screen door．Whenever the weather was thisnice，Pappy kept the inner door open．He enjoyed the fresh air--almost asmuch as the distinctive smell of antiques and old engine oil．
As he was polishing his newly restored lantern．he heard the tinklingof his bell on the shop door．The bell，which produced a uniquely charm—ing sound，had been in Pappy’S family for over a hundred years．He cher—ished it dearly and e~oyed sharing its song with all who came to hisshop．Although the bell hung on the inside of the main door，Pappy hadstrung a wire to the screen door SO that it would ring whether the innerdoor was open or not．Prompted by the bell，he left“Memory Hall”togreet his customer．
At first，he did not see her．Her shiny，soft curls barely topped thecounter．
“And how can I help you，little lady？”Pappy’S voice was joviai．
“Hello．sir．”The little girl spoke almost in a whisper．She was dain—ty，Bashful，Innocent．She looked at Pappy with her big brown eyes，andthen slowly scanned the room in search of something special．
Shyly she told him，“I’d like to buy a present，sir．”
“Well，let’S see，”Pappy said，“who is this present for？”
“My Grandpa．It’S for my Grandpa．But I don’t know whattO get．” began t。make suggesti。ns．“H。w ab。ut a p。cket watch？It’S in good condition．I fixed it myself，”he said proudly．
The little girl didn’t answer．She had walked to the doorway and put her small hand on the door．She wiggled the door gently to ring the bell．Pappy’S face seemed to glow as he saw her smiling with excitement．
“This is just tight，”the little girl bubbled．“Momma says Grandpa loves music．”
Just then，Pappy’S expression changed．Fearful of breaking the little girl’S heart，he told her，“I’m sorry，missy．That’S not for sale．Maybe your Grandpa would like this little radio．”
The little girl looked at the radio，lowered her head，and sadly sighed，“No，I don’t think SO．”
In an effort tO help her understand，Pappy told her the story of how the bell had been in his family for SO many years，and that was why he didn’t want to sell it．
The little girl looked up at him，and with a giant tear in her eye，sweetly said，“I guess I understand．Thank you，anyway．”
Suddenly，Pappy thought of how the rest of the familY was all gone now，except for his estranged daughter whom he had not seen in nearly a decade．Why not？He thought．Why not pass it on to someone who will share it with a loved one？God only knows where it will end up anyway．
“Wait…little lady．”Pappy spoke just as the little girl was going out the door-just as he was hearing his bell ring for the last time．“I’ve de—cided tO sell the bell．Here’S a hanky．Blow your nose．”
