Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of
pocket money, but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income. With some children, small
sums go a long way. If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months
inside money boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box. For most of them,
fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.
My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty. Very few of the fifty pence pieces and
pound coins I have given him have found their way there. I gave him fifty pence yesterday and
advised him to save it. Instead he bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble. On his way to the
sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a
drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain
cover. He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm
out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George
was firmly stuck. The fire brigade was called and two fire fighter freed George using a special type
of grease. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard
about his troubles and rewarded him with large box of chocolates.