Josephine’s Ring
A very short story.
“What a beautiful ring you have there, Josephine,” I said. “Where did you get it?”
“I found it on the sidewalk, Mama,” she said, smiling.
“Ah, a sidewalk ring,” I said. “You know who makes those, don’t you?”
She kept smiling as she looked up at me. “No, who?”
“The devil, Josephine. It’s the devil who makes them.”
“Wh- what?” she said, her smile quickly fading.
“Yes, that’s right, sidewalk rings and all jewelry found on the street are made by the devil, from the bones and brains of people who’ve gone to hell, and every finger or body part that touches the jewelry will turn rotten and eventually fall off, of course.”
Josephine began to cry, and I saw that she was starting to take the ring off her finger.
“No, no, no,” I said gently. “You can’t take it off, Josephine, or your finger will come off too, immediately. It’s best to leave the ring on so the finger will rot more naturally and you’ll get a few more days of use out of it. You really should be more careful what you pick up off the street. Now go wash up for dinner.”
Tears sliding down her face, Josephine went to the bathroom to wash up for dinner.
It’s remarkable what children will touch, isn’t it? They’ll touch just about anything, and it makes me sick.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Love this.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:49 am
This is lovely. I just read it aloud to my daughter Emily, who is home sick from school in a country with no Columbus Day.
“That was mean …,” says Emily. She’s a little puzzled by the story!
“Who are you writing to?” she says now. “You mean you can write to them? I hope it’s a person you know.”
After further reflection: “That was a gullible little child.”
October 12th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Ha! “That was mean.” Uh oh!