My father spoke enough Navajo to get by. I heard a couple of words I thought I understood, but not nearly enough to know just what was going on. My father and the old Indian man talked for a minute or so and then Dad turned to me and said:

　　"Davey, go in and get a large grocery sack. I want you to fill it with apples and oranges and a few pounds of pin nuts. We're going to help this old man. He's from Gamerco. He walked the seven miles into town through all this snow to get something to eat for his family. He says the whole family is sick and we must help them."

　　"Melley Klischma," said the old man, again pointing to his old sack.

　　I guess it was at this moment that I finally understood what was going on. The old man was asking, in the only way he knew, for a Merry Christmas. He was asking for some food and help for his family.

　　I raced back into the living room and began loading oranges and apples into a grocery sack my mother handed me. I even threw in a couple of those neat candy canes...then a couple more. I poured pin nuts into the sack until it nearly covered the fruit. Then, for good measure, I added a few more oranges to fill the sack completely. As I returned to the back door with this sack, I saw my father slip the old Indian a five-dollar bill.

　　I gave the old man the paper bag and stood and watched as he transferred all the apples, oranges and nuts to his cotton sack. He dropped an orange. I reached for the rolling orange just at the same time the old man did. His hand covered mine for just a brief instant. He looked into my eyes and smiled a big toothless smile. Oh, how his dark eyes sparkled!

　　I unwrapped the brand new bright red muffler from around my neck and wrapped it around the neck of the Ancient One...

　　Now, I didn't know it at the time, but my heart sure told me I had just learned something very important. I had just learned a most valuable lesson...one that I carry with me forever. It's far, far better to give...than to receive.