If there is one thing that we will have to do in life, it is making choices. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about deciding what shoes we are going to wear in the morning or trying to pick out a house where we will live, all of the choices deserve at least a little bit of our attention. One big decision that we may find we are making is choosing a puppy that will become a part of the family. It’s something that many people put hours of dedicated time into doing. For the little boy in this story, however, it wasn’t a matter of doing a lot of research, it was a matter of following his heart.

There once was a farmer who had some puppies he needed to sell, so he painted a sign advertising his 4 pups and staked it near the edge of his yard. As we went to nail the sign to the last post, he felt a tug on his overalls.

He looked down into the beaming eyes of a little boy wearing a big smile.

“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”

The boy hung his head for a moment. Then, he reached deep down into his pocket, pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents, he said. “Is that enough to take a look?”

“Sure,” said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle and called out “Dolly. Here Dolly!”

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy’s eyes danced with delight.

But as the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else making a stir inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller.

Down the ramp it slid. Then in a awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up…

“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. As he did so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially-made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

“How much?” asked the little boy.

“No charge,” answered the farmer, “There’s no charge for love.”