It was at least two months before Christmas when nineyear old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle. As Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade, or so we thought. We bought the latest rage, BabySitter's Club dolls, and a doll house. Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else.” It was just too late , what with all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying lastminute gifts, to take the time to select the “right bike” for our little girl. So, here we were Christmas Eve around 9:00 p.m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, nestled snug in their beds. Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child.” What if I make a little bicycle out of clay (泥) and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?” her dad asked. “This is an expensive item and she is ‘such a big girl,' it would be much better for her to pick it out.” So he spent the next four hours painstakingly working with clay to make a tiny bike. On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little hear shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud. “Does this mean that I trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real
