It was a cold November day and Sally and her brother James were sitting in their apartment. Their mother was at work. Both children were out of school as it was the Thanksgiving Holidays. Sally, who was reading a book, stopped and asked her brother James a question,

"Are we going to have a Thanksgiving dinner this year?"

James who was drawing in an old spiral book looked up and said,

"No. Not this year. Mom said that we don't have enough money for a dinner after we pay all of our bills."

Sally became extremely sad. Her brother looked at her sad expression and said,

"Don't be sad Sally. Maybe we will have a great thanksgiving dinner next year."

That evening Sally and James' mother returned home from her job at the local gas station which was located just down the road. She was very tired from working all day. Looking at her children's faces she knew what they were thinking. She told her children,

"I wish that we could have a large dinner this year. But we simply don't have the money."

The next day was the day before Thanksgiving. Sally's mother went to work as usual while the children cleaned the house. They worked hard to help their mother by completin all household tasks while she was gone. Sally stopped sweeping long enough to tell her borther,

"Maybe we can make a lemonade stand. Then we can get enough money so that we can buy enough food for a Thanksgivng dinner."

James replied,

"I don't think very many people will want lemonade in the middle of November because it is cold outside. But it was a good idea."

Sally wanted to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal like her friends at school. She was determined to find a way.

That evening, when their mom came home after another long day at work, Sally's mom said,

"Sally! James! I have a huge surprise you!"

They came rushing up to see what their mom had for them. She had carried in a large box. But they could not see what was inside. She showed them that it was filled with cans of green beans, corn, cranberry sauce and pudding. There was also a box of stuffing. Located in the bottom of the large box was a small turkey that looked rather large to the children.

"Where in the world did you get all of this food?"

Their mom replied with a smile,

"I went by the Food Bank and told them I didn't have enough money to buy things for my children for a Thanksgiving dinenr. They were very generous and gave me all of this."

The small family was excited. Sally's mom sat down exhausted and said, "And I don't have to go to work tomorrow as the station is closed. Thank goodness we have the entire day to spend together."

The next day, James and Sally spent all day thinking about how wonderful the delicious food was going to be. When it was time to start cooking the meal, James and Sally helped their mother with the preperations. They found that the time they spent together was almost as much fun as the delicious food.