Many years ago, a man, Judge Pemberton, was in a bookstore in Cincinnati, Ohio, when a boy came into the store. He was about 12 years old and was dressed in worn, shabby clothes. The judge watched him as he came to the counter.
“Do you have any geography books?” the boy asked the owner of the store.
“We have plenty of geography books,” the man replied.
“How much do they cost?” the boy asked.
“One dollar.”
The boy looked surprised. Putting his hand in his pocket, he pulled out some coins and began counting them. There were several nickels and dimes, but mostly pennies. He counted them three or four times before he put them back in his pocket. At last, he turned to go, saying softly to himself, “I didn’t know they cost so much.”
He got to the door and then turned back. “I have only sixty-two cents,” he told the shopkeeper. “Could you let me have the geography book now and wait a little while until I get the rest of the money?”
He eagerly waited for the answer, and seemed to shrink a little inside his ragged clothes when the shopkeeper kindly told him that he couldn’t do that. The boy was plainly disappointed, but he tried to smile and then left the store.
Judge Pemberton left as well, and caught up with the boy on the street.
“Where are you going now?” he asked.
“I’ll go to another bookstore and try again, sir,” the boy replied.
“May I go with you,” the judge asked, “and see what happens?”
The boy looked surprised. “Sure,” he said. “If you want to.”
The answer was the same at the second bookstore—and at two more that the boy visited, as well.
“Are you going to try again?” asked the judge as they left the fourth bookstore.
“Yes, sir,” the boy assured him. “I’ll try them all. Otherwise, I won’t know whether or not I can get a geography book.”
As the judge and the boy entered the fifth bookstore, the boy walked up to the counter and told the owner just what he wanted and how much money he had.
“You want this book very much, don’t you?” the man asked.
“Yes, sir. Very much.”
“Why do you want a geography book so badly?”
“To study it, sir. You see, I can’t go to school. I have to work most days to help my mother. My father is dead. He was a sailor, and I want to know about the places that he used to go.”
“I see,” said the bookstore owner softly.
“I’m going to be a sailor too, when I grow up,” the boy told him.
“Is that right?” the man replied. “Well, I tell you what I will do. I will let you have a new geography book, and you pay me the rest of the money when you can. Or I can let you have a used geography book for fifty cents.”
“Are all the pages in the used book?” the boy asked. “The very same pages as the new book—only used?”
“Yes,” the man answered. “It’s just exactly like the new book, except that it isn’t new.”
“Then I’ll take the used book,” the boy said. “And I’ll have twelve cents left. I’m glad they didn’t let me have a book at any of the other stores.”
The bookstore owner looked up puzzled when the boy said this. And Judge Pemberton explained that this was the fifth store the boy had come to looking for a geography book. The owner seemed impressed. When he handed the boy the book, he also handed him a new pencil and a tablet of paper.
“Here’s a little gift,” he said, “because you’re so determined to learn. Always have perseverance and courage, and you’ll do all right in life.”
“Thank you, sir,” said the boy. “You’re very kind.”
“What’s your name?” the man asked.
“William Haverly, sir.”
The judge looked at William. “You like books very much, don’t you?”
“Indeed, I do.” And the judge saw his eyes sweep longingly across the shelves of books in the store.
“Well, William,” said the judge, “Here are twenty dollars. Twenty dollars will buy some books for you.”
Tears of joy came into the boy’s eyes. “Can I buy anything I want with it?” he asked.
“Yes, you can buy anything you want with the money.”
“Then I’ll buy a book for my mother,” the boy said. “And another book for myself. I thank you very much, and I hope some day I can pay you back.”
The judge left him standing in the bookstore with a great smile on his face.
Many years later the judge went to Europe on one of the finest sailing ships then making the voyage across the Atlantic. The weather was beautiful until the very last few days before reaching port. Then a terrific storm arose. It was so violent that it would have sunk the ship if it had not been for the heroic efforts of the captain. The ship sprung a leak that threatened to fill the ship and sink it.
The crew were all strong men, and the officers were experienced and capable. But after they had manned the pumps for an entire night, the water was still gaining on them. They gave up in despair and were getting the life boats ready, although they knew that the chances were slim that such small boats could survive in the violent sea.
The captain had been in his cabin with his charts, trying to figure how far it was to land. Now he came on deck. When he understood the situation, he ordered the seamen back to the pumps. At his command they turned to their task once more. Then the captain started to go below to examine the leak. As he passed, the judge asked him, “Captain, is there any hope?” Several other passengers nearby came close to hear his reply.
The captain looked at the judge and said, “Yes, sir. There is hope as long as one inch of this boat remains above water! When I see none of the ship above water I will abandon the vessel, and not before—nor shall one of my crew. I will do everything humanly possible to save it, and if we fail, it won’t be because we didn’t try. Come, every man of you, and help work the pumps!”
The captain’s courage and perseverance and powerful will captured every mind on that ship, and everyone went to work. “I’ll land you safely at the dock in Liverpool,” the captain assured us, “if only you will each do your part.”
And he did land the passengers and crew safely, but the ship sank as they were mooring it to the dock. The captain stood on the deck of the sinking ship as the passengers filed down the gangplank. The judge was the last to leave. As he passed, the captain took him by the hand, “Judge Pemberton,” he said, “you don’t recognize me, do you?”
“I don’t recall that we have ever met before,” the judge answered.
“Oh, but we have,” said the captain. “Years ago in Cincinnati. Do you remember the boy who was looking for a geography book?”
“And are you that boy?” the judge exclaimed.
“Yes, I’m William Haverly. God bless you for what you did for me back then.”
“And God bless you, Captain, for your perseverance and courage,” the judge replied.
StoryTime, Character-building Stories for Children, ©2008, 12–15