He then showed Rollo several pictures by his favourite artist, one in particular which Rollo greatly admired.
“That is most beautiful!” said Rollo. “And what does it fetch?”
The gentleman looked puzzled before he said, “Oh, you mean the price. Well, that is one of the most reasonable. It is only a thousand dollars.”
Alas! Everywhere Rollo turned he met with the same discouraging reply. A tiny vial of perfume was supposed to fetch ten dollars; even single blossoms of rare flowers were three dollars each.
It was a tired and disheartened Rollo who finally turned his footsteps homeward, his dollar still sagging heavily in his pocket, as his heart sagged heavily within.
“Can you not imagine Anabelle’s joy when she opened all these presents!”
And then a most surprising thing happened, for Rollo suddenly found himself before the most beautiful shop he had ever seen, its windows gleaming with brilliant wares and holiday decorations, and its doorways, beneath a handsome red sign, breathing forth odours of the utmost fragrance. But what fascinated our little hero most was a card displayed in many places which stated “Nothing in this store over ten cents.”