‘The Valentine’

It was Valentine’s Day, and Arthur hadn’t found the perfect Valentine for his mom. She was the best mom in the world, and he wanted his present to show how much he loved her. He had saved all his Christmas money and most of his allowance.

“I’ll buy her a diamond ring,” he told his best friend, Joel.

“That will cost a lot of money,” Joel said.

There were hundreds of beautiful rings in the jewelry store, with all sizes of diamonds, and many with other kinds of jewels.

It turned out that all he could afford was a key ring. It was not the kind of ring Arthur wanted for his mom.

“Buy a chocolate heart,” Joel suggested. “You can get a big one.”

Arthur looked at boxes of valentine chocolates in the candy store. They came in all sizes. The heart-shaped boxes were as red as a fire engine and were decorated with flowers and golden ribbons. They were really beautiful and some cost less than the amount of money he had saved.

“A lot of moms will get chocolates for Valentine’s Day,” Arthur told Joel. “I want to give my mom something different, something other moms won’t get.”

He walked to the mall and looked in the windows of every store, trying to get an idea for the perfect gift for his mom. He passed the pet store and couldn’t resist going in.

I’ll buy her something alive, he thought. Tom, the owner, said, “We sell turtles, fish, iguanas and people-friendly snakes.”

“I’d like a snake myself,” Arthur said. “But I don’t think it would be a good valentine for my mom.”

“What about a bird?” Tom asked.

In a sunny corner of the store were dozens of canaries, their bright yellow feathers shining. They were all singing at once.

“What a happy noise,” Arthur said.

“They sing because they are happy in the sunshine,” Tom said.

Arthur especially noticed one of the birds. Its feathers were the brightest, and its song seemed louder and sweeter than the others.

“Do you like this bird?” Tom asked.

“Yes,” Arthur said. “It’s the best bird in your store.”

The man took the cage off its hook.

“Look,” he said. “See how his eyes are closed? He’s blind. But he sings from his happy heart. I think the warmth of the sunshine has a special and deeper meaning for him than the others. That is why his song is so special.”

“This is the perfect valentine for my mom,” Arthur said. “It’s the most beautiful canary I’ve ever seen. It has the sweetest song of all. I’d like to buy it.”

“Most people don’t want to buy a blind canary. You must take very special care of him. Never let him out of his cage and always speak to him when you enter the room. Don’t go up to his cage and just start talking. It will scare him. He needs lots of TLC,” Tom said.

“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s for my mom. She specializes in tender loving care.”

“I can sell it to you for $20 -- including the cage.”

“Would you take $10?” asked Arthur.

“Sold, for $10,” answered Tom.

The canary was still singing when Arthur set its cage on the kitchen table where he knew his mom would soon be putting out the dishes for their dinner. On a heart-shaped card he wrote a valentine greeting:

“To my mom, this little bird is singing a song of love to you from his heart. I love you with all my heart. Arthur.”

Special thanks to Marilyn Scott-Waters for this week’s illustration. To see more of her work and find out about paper toys she has created, visit thetoymaker.com.

Valentine’s Day is Sunday, Feb. 14.

For more Kids’ Reading Room, visit latimes.com/kids.