Story about a boy named “Teddy Stallard”
Teddy was an unattractive, unmotivated child whose mother died when he was in the third grade. Nobody liked Teddy, including his fifth grade teacher, Miss Thompson. It was Christmas time of Teddy’s fifth grade and the children in Miss Thompson’s class brought her Christmas presents. They piled their presents on her and crowded around to watch her open them. Among the presents was one from Teddy. She was surprised that he had brought her a gift. Teddy’s gift was wrapped in brown paper and was held together with scotch tape. On the paper were written the simple words, “For Miss Thompson from Teddy.” When she opened Teddy’s present, out fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet, with half the stones missing, and a bottle of cheap perfume.
The other boys and girls began to giggle and smirk over Teddy’s gifts but Miss Thompson at least had enough sense to silence them by immediately putting on the bracelet and putting some of the perfume on her wrist. Holding her wrist up for the other children to smell, she said, “Doesn’t that smell lovely?” And the children taking their cue from the teacher, readily agreed with “oo’s and “ah’s”
At the end of the day when school was over the other children had left, teddy had lingered behind. Slowly he came over to her desk and said softly, “Miss Thompson… Miss Thompson, you smell like my mother… and her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too. I’m glad you like my presents.” When Teddy left, Miss Thompson got down on her knees and asked God to forgive her.
The next day when the children came to school, they were welcomed by a new teacher. Miss Thompson had become a different person. She was no longer just a teacher; she had become an agent of God. She helped all the children especially the slow ones and especially Teddy Stallard. Teddy showed dramatic improvement. He had caught up with most of the students and was even ahead of some. She didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time and then she received a note that read:
Dear Miss Thompson,
I want you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class.
Love,
Teddy Stallard
Four years later, another note came:
Dear Miss Thompson,
They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university hasn’t
been easy, but I like it.
Love,
Teddy Stallard
And four years later;
Dear Miss Thompson,
As of today I am Theodore Stallard M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know I am getting married next month. I want you to come sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year.
Love,
Teddy Stallard
Miss Thompson went to that wedding and sat where Teddy’s mother would have sat.
She deserved to sit there; she had done something for Teddy that he could never forget.
