AN EASTER STORY FROM RANDOM JACK'S CHILDREN'S HOUR
by Jack Random with Illustrations by Robert Miller
The Golden Egg
All the children were in
their Easter Sunday best outfits. Sally
had her pink dress with big yellow polka dots.
George wore his navy blue shorts with a billowy white shirt and suspenders. Hair was coifed and combed, shoes were shined
and faces were cleaned and cleaned again.
They were all primed and ready for the Great Easter Egg Hunt.
Some said there were over a
thousand brightly colored eggs and a thousand more plastic eggs containing
candy and prizes to delight the young participants and fill their baskets with
glory. Laughter filled the air as
children gathered at the starting line.
Parents looked on from their sheltered perches under the trees and on
the porch.
Mr. Williams was dressed in
his Mad Hatter costume from Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland. He marched
to his starting post, turned to face the children and cleared his voice for his
traditional speech:
Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and
Girls! Welcome to the twenty-seventh
annual Great Easter Egg Hunt of Dunwitty County! This year we have the usual variety of
colored eggs, candies and prizes to delight every child! But one special child will have a very
special treat indeed! The child who
finds the Golden Egg will be crowned this year’s Easter Egg King or Queen and
will be privileged to ride in the Royal Float for the annual Easter
Parade! On your marks, get set…go!
All the children
ran as fast as they could and began to fill their baskets with delights – all
that is except Carly who ambled along behind the others. Carly was a child with special needs. She had a condition – as her mother put it –
that made it difficult to run and jump and dance and hop as the other children
did. But Carly had a gift that the other
children did not have. She believed in
magic and because she believed magical things tended to happen.
Today as she
ambled out into the wide-open green lawn behind the other children, she saw a
rabbit. It was not an ordinary
rabbit. That she could clearly see. It was a special rabbit. It wore a pink shirt with broad white
buttons, gray pants and white gloves.
One ear stood straight up and the other bent to the side. It smiled a crooked wry smile that made you
think it knew a secret that no one else knew.
The funny thing was no one else seemed to see the rabbit.
Carly ambled
right up to the smiling rabbit who bowed and introduced himself.
“My name is Jack
and who may I be informed is the charming young lady to whom I am
speaking?”
“My name is
Carly! Pleased to meet you, Jack!”
She curtsied and
Jack knew at once he had found the girl who would find the Golden Egg. While all the other children scurried about,
picking up eggs of every description and cackling with uncontrolled joy, Jack
led Carly straight to a ten-feet tall pedestal.
It was glorious! Jack pointed to
the top and Carly saw it: a shining, brilliant and glowing golden egg! It filled her with a happiness the likes of
which she had never felt before but then it occurred to her that she could not
reach the egg and her happiness was replaced with sorrow.
Jack knew at
once what she was thinking. He smiled,
took a few steps back and leaped up to grab the egg and carry it back to the
ground where he handed it to Carly. The
joy instantly returned to her face and brightened her spirit. She thanked Jack three or four times and then
she ran to where her parents stood in the shade of a giant oak and held up the
Golden Egg.
Her parents
hardly seemed to notice the Golden Egg.
They had just seen their little girl run like all the other children
across the lawn of the Great Easter Egg Hunt.
It was a miracle.
Carly looked
back to thank her rabbit friend once more and she saw him bow and wink an
instant before he vanished into thin air.
It was a very happy Easter for all – but especially for the little girl
who believed in magic.
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!
