Children's Business Review

Make Them Want To Give You Whatever It Is You Want To Take

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As she turned the corner on the path leading to Aris’s house, Clara was astonished to come upon a mountain of parcels teetering to and fro, all neatly wrapped and decorated with the most ingenious bows imaginable. As she peered closer, Clara spotted Aris gliding from parcel to parcel, making small adjustments here and there and putting finishing touches on what must have been some of the more important gifts. 

After drawing closer to Aris’ collection of what were clearly presents to be given away during the holiday season, Clara noticed a small pile of parcels quite different than the others. At first glance they looked like the rest of Aris’ presents however these parcels didn’t have colorful labels attached to them like the other parcels.  

“All finished!” Aris announced triumphantly as he flew over to where Clara was seated. 

“What about these ones?” Clara asked as she pointed towards the unlabeled presents. “Don’t you need to add labels to this group?” 

Clara could tell that Aris was pleased that she had spotted the difference between that group of presents and the others and was also happy to be able to explain himself. 

“I always keep several unlabelled gifts in reserve,” he began. “This way, if I’m unexpectedly visited by someone bearing gifts, I’m sure to have something to give them in return.”  

“How clever!” exclaimed Clara to the obvious delight of her owl friend. 

“I wish I could take all of the credit for this,” replied Aris, “however it was my friend Micah who taught me the importance of repaying others when they do something nice for you. Did I ever tell you about Micha?”

“Never,” responded Clara, knowing that her response would prompt Aris to share a story with her, the same story that I’m sharing with you now. 

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Often, when someone grows older and is living alone, they will move from their house or apartment into a new house, filled with other older people quite like themself. Day-in and day-out, these homes are occupied not only by the people who live there, but also by various others who make meals, do the washing, organize events and make sure that the house’s residents are happy and safe. 

Micah, a particularly old hedgehog, lives in a comfortable house like the one I described above (which hedgehogs refer to as dens), along with a dozen other hedgehogs. The nicest thing about this particular den for Micah is that it is situated in a glen not far from where he previously lived with his wife and three daughters and so its surroundings are certainly familiar and fill Micah with sweet memories.  

Micah, and the twelve hedgehogs who call this particular den their home, live a very happy life thanks in large part to all those who work tirelessly at keeping the den running. For example there’s Molly, a rather chubby hedgehog, who visits the den every day to work in the kitchen. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, the den’s residents are sure to have something delicious on their plates thanks to her ingenuity in the kitchen. And the job of keeping the den spick and span belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Carson, two of the most exceptionally proper (and rather serious) hedgehogs that you might ever come across.    

One morning not too long ago, Micah was in for quite a surprise upon receiving his post. In addition to various bills and flyers, which even hedgehogs can’t avoid getting, there was a big blue envelope. Without opening it, or looking at the return address, Micah knew that this was a letter from one or more of his seven grandchildren.

You see, Micah had given his grandchildren a stack of pre-addressed blue envelopes, along with paper, paint brushes, crayons and stamps, so that they could write him letters, send him drawings and keep him up-to-date with the goings-on in their lives. And so the arrival of a blue envelope was a sure sign to Micah that one or more grandchild had something to share with him. 

Now getting the letter was not the surprise I referred to earlier, rather, it was what the letter contained that was unexpected; namely, Micah’s three daughters, their husbands, and his seven grandchildren would be coming to visit him for two days during their summer holidays in order to celebrate Micah’s birthday. 

Micah was thrilled to learn that everyone he loved in the world was coming to visit on his birthday, in fact, Micah smiled for so long that his cheeks hurt him for days. Micah’s joy was tempered by one point of apprehension – how would the den’s residents and staff members deal with thirteen visitors, including seven particularly loud and boisterous hedgehog children? 

It wasn’t that guests and family members weren’t welcome to visit the den, in fact it brightened everybody’s day to see a fresh face and hear a new story from time-to-time. The difficulty was that guests’ visits were typically short in duration and consisted of spending an afternoon, sharing a dinner or popping in for a cup of tea or coffee. A visit by thirteen people for two days, as his family proposed, was up until that point unheard of. In addition to that, the visit was guaranteed to be a disruption to what was usually a very ordered and structured way of life. 

And so, with three months to go before his birthday, Micah worked out a set of measures that he would take to ensure that by the time his birthday rolled around, his visitors would be welcomed to the den with open arms.

Micah has always been an early riser, waking well before anyone else in the den and spending his early mornings walking throughout the glen, working up an appetite for whatever it is that Molly prepares for breakfast. 

In the months preceding his birthday, Micah continued his morning strolls but now was mindful to be on the lookout for fresh berries, mushrooms, sweet grasses, juicy insects, tender roots or whatever else he could find to take back to Molly. Thrilled by these unexpected additions to her kitchen storeroom, Molly would thank Micah profusely, give him the biggest portion of whatever desert she had made that day and would wonder constantly to herself if there was some way that she could thank Micah for everything he was doing for her.   

Molly wasn’t the only one in for a surprise from Micah in the months leading-up to his birthday. Several times a week, Micah would join Mr. and Mrs. Carson for a few hours in their housekeeping duties, and, while scrubbing away at a scuff mark on the floor or wiping down a window, would entertain them with stories of his youth and all the trouble he use to get into as a young hedgehog. It wasn’t long before the time they spent with Micah was Mr. and Mrs. Carson’s favourite moments of the day. 

As you may have already guessed, as Micah’s birthday approached, there arose amongst the dens’ residents an increasing feeling of indebtedness towards him. For example Betty, the den’s oldest resident and an avid gardener, discovered that with Micah’s help and guidance, she was able to grow the prettiest flower garden in the whole glen. Every day Walter, a rather cantankerous hedgehog, treasured the hours he would spend listening to the jazz records that Micah generously loaned him. And some of the happiest hedgehogs in the den were Florence, Bob and Isabelle who found that they finally had a fourth person, because the best games require four players, willing to play cards with them each night following dinner. In fact, there wasn’t a single hedgehog who lived or worked in the den who didn’t have feelings of gratitude towards Micah in the months following that blue envelope’s appearance. 

One week before his birthday and the anticipated arrival of his family, Micah announced to the den that his daughters, their husbands and their children were hoping to visit Micah for two days in order to celebrate his birthday. In the most courteous manner you could imagine, Micah inquired as to whether everyone might overlook the slight disruption that this visit would cause to the den’s usual routines and asked whether he might accept the request of his three daughters, their husbands and his seven grandchildren and make plans for their visit. 

I doubt that you’ll be surprised to learn that Micah’s request met with no objection and was heartily agreed to by the den’s residents and those who kept the den running.

The day finally arrived when Micah’s family were to visit. As they entered the den, all thirteen of them were met with a sight beyond their imagining. Not only were they greeted by a beaming Micah, they entered a den decorated with the prettiest flower displays they had ever seen, thanks, of course, to Betty. For the two days Micha’s family visited, everyone in the den feasted on food fit for a King, meticulously prepared by Molly. And those days and nights were filled with music, thanks primarily to the den’s newly established DJ, Walter. 

Despite the influx of guests, everyone in the den slept, visited and played in comfort, thanks to Bob, Florence and Isabelle who delighted in ensuring that everyone under their watchful eyes was as content as they could possibly be. And the den never looked better during the visit of Micah’s family, in spite of the mess generated by a den full of hedgehogs and thirteen guests, owing to the tireless work of Mr. and Mrs. Carson, who seemed to bustle about with endless energy.   

Now you might be curious as to what happened after the party was over and Micah’s family left. I’m happy to tell you that Micah continued to contribute to Molly’s pantry, tend Betty’s flower garden, assist the Carsons with their house cleaning, listen to music with Walter and spend his evenings playing cards with Bob, Florence and Isabelle.  

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Clara remained quiet as Aris’ story concluded and said nothing for several minutes. Aris waited patiently in silence, happy as ever to see that his story had given Clara something to think about. 

Finally Clara did speak, “I’m not sure how to feel about that story or about Micah. It seems as though he was only nice, generous and helpful because he wanted to get something from the other hedgehogs.” 

“I understand your preoccupations,” Aris said kindly, “but please don’t judge Micah too harshly. After all, not one of us would feel proud if someone was able to look into our heart and judge all of our actions by our true motivations.”