It’s amazing what people try to get rid of at jumble sales.
The old girl who lives at the back of the disused post office building is forever going around picking up rubbish, looking for some sort of treasure. People who know her, and also know that she’s more than halfway batty, don’t give her any grief. Although her habit of turning up at the local jumble sale with a small folding table and a plastic shopping bag full of trash could be seen as irksome to some under normal circumstances. However, without reproach, she always arrives early, spreads her bits and pieces out and stands waiting for people to enter.
Deep down, she could understand to some degree that her selection of sweet wrappers, pebbles and twigs had never gained much interest, but on the other hand, why the large, red, shiny bottle top had never been snapped up simply baffled her. On this occasion she had brought along a jam jar containing three dried up butter beans and placed it at the front of her goodies.
Before long, a young girl with her mother passed by the little table. Her small eyes lit up when she saw the bottle top.
The old woman said, “Would you like to look at it?”
The girl nodded.
She handed it to her, saying, “If you can guess how many beans are in this jar, you can have it.”
The youngster looked up at her mother, who nodded.
She put the top back down and lifted the jar. She rattled it gently and said, “Three?”
“Wow! Clever girl. It’s yours.”
The girl clapped excitedly and eagerly picked up the bottle top.
The mother smiled and they moved on.
It speaks volumes about the community that the others, those who witnessed the transaction, merely smiled and went back to their business.