THE RUBY HEART

"A little boy named Basil was given a very special birthday gift by his father, a ruby. But not just an ordinary ruby. It's shape was almost like the shape of a heart and it was almost as big as his own fist!
"Oh, Basil was so proud of that ruby! He had to show it to all his friends and tell them it was a sign of just how much his father loved him.
"One day Basil heard his father talking to two other men about going to follow a big star in the sky to a far away land to present special gifts to a baby who would one day be king. Basil begged and begged to go with his father, but his mother scolded him, saying he was way too young to go on such a journey.
"But Basil was determined!
"When no one was looking, he climbed into one of the big baskets that would be loaded on the camels, and waited.
"He soon found out what a bad choice he had made, because, you see, camels don't walk like us. Not even like a horse! Their move each foot seperately so that his basket was thrown forward, then to the right and back again befove bouncing to the left and back to the front.
"The Wise Men had to travel at night to follow that star, so Basil, in his basket with no blanket, got oh so cold! Then in the daytime, he just burned up in the desert heat. And he was hungry! He only just managed to grab a few scraps of leftover meals when no one was looking.
"It's no surprise that finally he got discovered. It was just before they arrived in Bethlehem. Oh, his father was so cross with him! But the deed was done, so Basil was allowed to join the Wise Men as they presented their gifts to Jesus.
"Now Basil hadn't thought about bringing a gift, so he had nothing to give the Baby Jesus, so he hung back. But his father insisted Basil see the Baby, pushing him to Mary's side. He leand over and was about to say something when his precious ruby heart slid out of his shirt. With a sweet burble of sound, Baby Jesus reached for it. Witout hesitating one bit, Basil lifted the chain off from around his neck and gave his heart to Jesus."
After a pause, Dad would continue in a gentle, awe-filled voice.
"It's just that simple. You, too, can give your own heart to Jesus! Would you like to do that?"