Teaching Kids the Value of Money
The moon resembled a silver coin, casting its light across the land…
Little Bear had his first silver coin—how should he spend it?
This story begins early in the morning.
Early in the morning, Little Bear woke from his deep sleep and started his breakfast. He ate an apple and a piece of bread made from wheat grown in his own garden. The bread was wonderfully baked, and each bite carried the scent of sunshine and soil, with a hint of fruitiness. This was because the wheat had grown under the sun in the moist soil, and near the wheat field was Little Bear’s orchard, where apple and peach trees grew. That’s why Little Bear’s bread had such a sweet and fragrant taste.
Eating such bread made Little Bear indescribably happy. When he was happy, he felt full of energy, so Little Bear decided to take a walk in the forest and see if there was any work he could help with.
Little Bear came to a meadow full of blooming milk vetch. He saw Lion Adan building a house, with many small animals helping.
Adan glanced at the sturdy Little Bear and said, “Little Bear, come help me out. I need to finish building this house before the rainy season, and I could use some help. If you work for me, I’ll pay you.”
“I don’t need any payment, I can help with some work,” Little Bear replied.
Little Bear saw five little moles carrying a piece of wood, which seemed to be for making window frames; four little badgers carried a thicker piece of wood, probably for the door frame. The woodpile was quite far away, so Little Bear stretched his arms, picked up a thick and long piece of wood from the pile, and walked past Lion Adan.
“Adan, this wood is perfect for the beam,” said Little Bear.
“Thank you, you’re really strong!” Lion Adan praised.
“Wow, you did the work of several of us!” the other small animals exclaimed in amazement.
By evening, when the work was done, Lion Adan gave Little Bear a silver coin and said, “Little Bear, this is your payment. With your help, I’m no longer worried about the rainy season arriving early. You’re welcome to come help again tomorrow!”
Little Bear, holding the shiny silver coin, walked home. At this moment, a round moon was rising in the distant meadow.
Little Bear held up the silver coin and said, “This is my first earned silver coin. It’s as round and bright as the moon!”
As Little Bear walked, he wondered: What could he do with this silver coin?
Little Bear went into the food store and said to Aunt Rabbit, “I have a silver coin!”
Aunt Rabbit said, “I can sell you a freshly baked orange cake and apples just picked from the tree. They taste great.”
Little Bear glanced at the cake and apples and said, “This isn’t as good as the bread we bake at home. The apples I grow are even better.”
Little Bear then went to Red Fox’s sundry shop and said, “I have a silver coin!”
Red Fox smiled and said, “I can sell you a newly made chair. It’s sturdy and beautiful, and very comfortable to sit on!”
Little Bear glanced at the chair and said, “If I sit on it, I’ll break your pretty chair. It’s not suitable for me.”
Leaving Red Fox’s sundry shop, Little Bear still held the shiny silver coin in his hand and thought—what could he do with this moon-like shiny silver coin?
Returning home, Little Bear thought: Maybe I don’t need this silver coin at all.
Little Bear looked at the white walls of his home and thought: I could frame this silver coin and hang it on the wall, with a note saying this is the first silver coin I earned. Then he thought, it might attract the greedy Big Gray Wolf, who would come and steal the coin from the wall. That guy would do anything bad…
Just then, Little Bear looked out the window and saw Old Hippo Grandpa’s wooden house in the distance, and he seemed to hear Grandpa’s severe coughing again.
“Right,” Little Bear reminded himself, “Old Hippo Grandpa needs this silver coin. He can use it to treat his cough.”
“And,” Little Bear continued talking to himself, “Old Hippo Grandpa’s neighbor, the beaver granny with rheumatism, might need the chair from Red Fox’s store. She could sit comfortably on it to rest. And Mr. Goat’s house has been leaking for a long time, and…”
Little Bear suddenly felt that his one silver coin wasn’t enough. He needed to earn many more silver coins.
“No problem, I have plenty of strength. Tomorrow I’ll help Lion Adan carry more wood,” Little Bear told himself.
Little Bear sat by his window for dinner again. He still ate the bread he baked himself, the bread that gave off the scent of sunshine and soil, and the fragrance of apples and peaches, which made him very satisfied.
At night, Little Bear put his first earned silver coin under his pillow. Under the silver moonlight, he slept soundly. In his dreams, he saw himself earning many more silver coins, each as shiny as the moon…
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
