As he returned inside， the shop keeper’s wife walked out. “Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing？”
Staring out the window， and blinking the tears from his own eyes， he replied， “A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop， I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn’t sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what， but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago， a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime. When I looked at him， I saw myself， many years ago. I too was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man， whom I never knew， stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. When I saw that little boy tonight， I knew who that voice was， and I put together a dozen of my very best roses.”
The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly， and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air， they somehow didn’t feel cold at all.
外麵下著雪，博比站在後院，感覺越來越冷。博比不愛穿靴子，況且他也沒有靴子可穿，所以隻能赤腳站在雪地裏。腳上的運動鞋薄薄的，已經磨出了好幾個洞，不論怎樣也抵擋不住冬季的嚴寒。
博比已經在後院待了整整一個小時。送給母親什麽禮物好呢，他絞盡腦汁，左思右想，心裏一點主意都沒有。他邊想邊搖頭，“不行，即便我知道送什麽，也買不起。”
3年前博比的父親去世了，之後，這個五口之家一直在生活的最底線上掙紮。不是母親沒有盡心盡力，隻是她賺來的那點兒可憐的薪水遠遠不夠家用。母親在醫院上夜班，她賺的那點兒少得可憐的薪水能夠維持到現在已經不錯了。
盡管家裏很窮，但大家都相親相愛，關係和睦。博比有兩個姐姐和一個妹妹，母親外出時，她們會把家料理得井然有序。