Once there was a girl named Coral
Graf who lived in the Upper East Side of New York City.
She lived with her father and
mother in a red brick, high-rise apartment with many neighbors.
Her father owned a local deli with
Jewish delicacies that all the neighbors loved.
At least three days a week, her
mother was a telephone operator at the Empire State Building.
Ever since Coral was a baby, The
Man Upstairs dropped pennies through the heating vent.
“We don’t want your money!” Coral’s
father yelled at The Man Upstairs through the ceiling.
Her father banged on the ceiling
with the broom handle to emphasize his request.
When The Man Upstairs continued to
drop pennies, Mrs. Graf set out a tin can to collect them.
“Well, if The Man Upstairs insists
on giving us money, then we have to give it away,” Mrs. Graf said.
Mr. and Mrs. Graf, with Coral at
their side, gave the money to every hungry person on the block.
One day, when the tin can of
pennies overflowed, The Man Upstairs stopped dropping the coins.
Mr. and Mrs. Graf were tired of
giving the money away and thought they would keep it for themselves.
“It’s so much effort to give the
money away,” Mr. Graf said, eating a corned beef sandwich and sauerkraut.
“Coral, I thought maybe The Man Upstairs
wanted us to keep a little of it,” Mrs. Graf said, enjoying a bagel and lox.
“Mom, you know we have to share the
pennies!” Coral said to her mother, counting the remaining money in the tin can.
Nine-year-old Coral walked through
the Upper East Side giving every last penny to needy strangers.
Later, when Coral placed the tin
can under her apartment vent, more pennies came out faster than ever before.
The Man Upstairs only dropped
pennies when someone from the Graf family gave the coins away.
From that day on, Coral was in
charge of the pennies that fell in the tin can from The Man Upstairs.
“I promise to never hoard the
pennies for myself,” Coral said, talking to him through the heating vent.
“I’ll do as much good with every
penny as I possibly can. Thank you for trusting me with your money.”
Over time, Coral had enough pennies
from The Man Upstairs to change the entire world.
The more pennies he gave her; the
more she gave away. She might have even been a millionaire;
All because The Man Upstairs knew
she would keep her promise.
Copyright 2015 Jennifer Waters
Dedicated to my grandmother, Augusta Renner Graf Waters.
