THE SHOE BOX

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared everything. They had talked about everything.

They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little
old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had
cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but
one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said
she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took
down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was
in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted
dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be
married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy
marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry
with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back
tears.

Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry
with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost
burst with happiness. 'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll,
but what about all of this money?

Where did it come from?'
'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

- contributed by Mr. Ang Lee San

* Truly a twist towards the end of the story makes us laugh a little and learn a lot!