Once upon a time, many years ago, in a land not too far away, an adorable little boy lived an unhappy life with unhappy parents. He was a sweet little boy, but he was full of energy, he liked to talk a lot, and he loved to see other people laugh, so he was often in trouble for being a class clown, or for being rambunctious although he meant no harm. In fact, he tried very hard to be good so that his parents would be proud of him, but he never felt like he was good enough.
The little boy was very active, and he liked to play outside with his friends, but he was often grounded and not allowed to go out, so he was very surprised when his mother told him that he was going to go to church camp for a whole week. He had heard his friends talk about camp, and it sounded like so much fun that he could hardly wait.
At last the day arrived, and although he was a little bit afraid, because he didn’t know any of the kids he saw playing outside, he bravely carried his little suitcase, and rolled up sleeping bag to the bunk house. Inside, there were other boys settling in for the week, and before he’d finished making up his bunk, he’d already made new friends and no longer felt nervous.
Camp was just like his school friends had said it would be. He ran and swam, played games and had so much fun with his new friends that before he knew it, it was the last day of camp, and that afternoon, his parents would come to pick him up and take him home. He was sad to think that camp was almost over, until lunchtime when one of the teenage counselors stood up, and made an announcement.
He held out a clear plastic box, and inside, nestled on a bed of red velvet, was a golden arrowhead. The counselor said that there would be a contest to see who could go the whole afternoon without saying a word. The winner would be announced at the closing ceremonies with all the parents present, and he or she could bring the golden arrowhead home. The little boy was so excited. He knew that he could win that arrowhead if he tried really hard, and he just knew his parents would be so proud of him. He could just imagine their faces when his name was announced, and he walked up on stage in front of everyone to collect his prize. He knew just where he would put it in his room, and he imagined taking it to school for show and tell. He was so sure that he could win it, and so eager to start, that he stopped talking even before the contest began.
At last lunch was over, and after a countdown, the contest officially began. Silently, all the children ran outside, a few pushing excitedly past the slower ones. “Hey!!” one of them protested. “OHHH! You’re out!” a counselor shouted, pointing at the talker. The little boy smiled to himself; he knew there was no way that he was going to make that mistake! Outside, the playground was eerily quiet, as all the children tried their best not to talk. But, after a few minutes, more and more children were pointed at by the counselors but still the little boy did not speak. He knew he could win, and he was determined to get that arrowhead.
An hour passed, and at least half of the children were “out.” The ones still in the running for the arrowhead, walked around but did not play for fear that they would speak, but the ones already caught talking had gone on to play kickball, and jump rope, and swing on the swing set. The little boy wandered around, hands in his pockets, thinking to himself that he wished he could play with the others but that it would be worth the wait, to see the look on his parent’s faces, when they saw him win that beautiful arrowhead. Scuffing his feet, he turned towards the swing set, just in time to see a little girl, younger and smaller, fall backwards off a swing, her pigtails covering her face as her head hit the ground.
The little boy ran over to the little girl, and said, “are you ok?” as he helped her to her feet. Crying, she nodded, just as a counselor pointed at the little boy and said, “You’re out!” The boy protested, “but, I was asking her if she was alright!” The counselor, who seemed quite big to the boy at the time, but who was probably no more than 14, was quite sure that the rules were black and white, “doesn’t matter, you still talked!”
The little boy gave up, he knew he would never get the arrowhead, and although he was angry with the councilor, he wasn’t sorry that he’d helped the little girl. He knew even then, that he wouldn’t want the prize if it meant that he couldn’t help someone. The rest of the afternoon passed, and at the closing ceremony, a girl about the little boys age was awarded the arrowhead. Everyone clapped as she proudly went onstage and afterwards, as he and his parents drove away, he saw the little girl’s mom hug her while her dad carried her suitcase and sleeping bag to the car, so that she could hold on to her award.
Years passed, and the little boy grew up. He continued to get into trouble sometimes, and he never really thought that his parents were proud of him, even when he went on to serve his country, or when he was the first person in his family to earn a college degree. The boy married, had children of his own, and eventually his parents passed away. The little boy was a father himself for many years before he remembered the story of the golden arrowhead again, and told his wife. He chuckled remembering how much the little boy wanted the arrowhead, and laughed when he told his wife how the joke was on him for losing the prize at a church camp because he’d tried to help someone. But his wife didn’t laugh, she felt sad for the little boy, who was punished for doing a good deed, and who couldn’t see that he was a such a good person inside, no matter how many times he got in trouble. She was proud of him, but rarely told him so.
Many more years passed, and the wife never forgot the story of the golden arrowhead. She thought to herself many times that she should tell the little boy that she was proud of him, and grateful that he had a merciful, sweet spirit, but she never did. Until one day, the story spilled out of her head, into her fingers and onto her keyboard. She wrote about the little boy because she wanted him to know that she was so proud of him for losing that contest, and that she loved him just the way he was, even though he sometimes talked too much, and was still quite rambunctious. The wife wanted him to know that even at his worst, he was still good, and that together they could live happily ever after.
The end.
