“What in the world have I to be thankful for?” asked Jack, as Thanksgiving Day came near.
All of a sudden there stood before him a beautiful being, whom Jack thought to be a fairy grown large, but she wasn’t. She was an angel, a Thanksgiving angel.
“I know one thing you should be thankful for,” she said, “and I will show you, Jack.” Reaching out her hand she touched Jack on the eye.
“Oh! oh!” cried Jack, for he found that, although his eyes were wide open, he could not see a single thing, not even the angel who had blinded him. Jack had learned one thing to be thankful for.
In terror Jack started to run away, but the angel spoke. “Ah, Jack, I know something else you have to be thankful for.” So she stooped down quickly, and touched Jack’s feet. Jack came to a sudden stop. He found himself absolutely unable to move. So Jack had found something else to be grateful for.
Our little lad thought that something was holding him, and, not being able to see, he reached down to feel his feet to see how he was held. “Ah,” said the Thanksgiving angel, “I see you have something else to be grateful for.” So she touched Jack’s hands, and Jack suddenly found that he had lost the power of feeling. Grope as he might, he couldn’t touch anything.
With this Jack began to cry and scream. He was indeed in a terrible plight. “Why,” said the angel, “how many things you have to be thankful for! There is one thing I had quite forgotten.” So she touched Jack’s lips, and Jack all of a sudden became absolutely mute, unable to scream or to say a word.
“Can you hear me, Jack?” asked the angel. “I know you can, and so you still have one thing, at any rate, to be thankful for, even though you are blind, and crippled, and dumb, and without the power of touching anything. You still can hear good advice; but even that you may not be able always to hear, for you may not always have it. And here is a bit of good advice. Don’t forget, Jack, how many things you have to be thankful for.”
With that the angel went away, and all of a sudden Jack found that he could see and move and touch and speak just as before. And wasn’t he a more grateful boy? And didn’t he enjoy that Thanksgiving Day?