“The Dog Bone”

One day during the depression era, when my grandmother was young, she was asked by her mother to go to the local butcher shop. She was told to get a bone for their dog.
My grandmother, always very helpful to her mother, did as she was told.

She put on her boots and winter coat and set out to face the elements. When she arrived at the store, she went to the counter and asked the butcher for a bone for her dog. The butcher, looked her in the eye, winked, and said, “I did not know you had a dog.”
He disappeared into the back room for a few minutes. Soon, he came back to my mother and handed her a white paper wrapped item. She quickly ran home with the free dog bone, to present to her mother.

When my grandmother returned with the package, her mother immediately opened it and large grin appeared on her face. The neighborhood butcher had chosen the biggest, meatiest soup bone he could find. That night, my great-grandmother cooked a large pot of delicious soup for the family.

My grandmother will always remember how kind that butcher was to her family.