Boy Bakes Cookies to Buy Christmas Present for Mom after Dad Ditched Them – Story of the Day

“Why are you selling cookies, sweetheart?” a mother asked her son after learning the neighbors bought cookies from him. “Mom, I wanna buy a new game for myself,” he lied. He wanted to earn money for something he couldn’t yet share with his mother.

Ever since Ben’s father suddenly left him and his mother, Julie, one day, he had often seen her cry. The 11-year-old had no idea why his father had abandoned them. All he knew was that his mother was heartbroken and felt sad without him.

Every year on Christmas, Julie would host a dinner for her friends and family, and everyone would bring presents. However, she didn’t plan to do anything special this time because she still couldn’t process that her husband had ditched her.

“It’s okay, Mom. I want to spend Christmas just with you, anyway,” Ben said to his mother when she told him they wouldn’t host a party this year. He wanted to do something for her so she wouldn’t miss his father.

What should I do? Ben wondered. When he thought of buying a present for Julie, many things came to his mind, but the problem was that he didn’t have money.

Since Ben was still a child, there was not much he could do to earn money in such a short time. Doing a part-time job or working as a loader was out of the question. He had to think of another way to make money.

I have an idea! Ben thought and went to his friend’s house next door. “Hey, Mary! You know how to bake cookies, right?” he asked his friend.

“Yes, Ben. I know how to make the best chocolate chip cookies!” Mary exclaimed. “Do you want some?”

“That’s great,” Ben said. “I don’t want them, but I want to learn how to bake them.”

“Really? I think you should learn it from my mom. She is a pro!”

“Okay, let’s ask her when she can teach me.”

After Ben talked to Mary’s mother and told her why he wanted to learn how to bake cookies, she instantly agreed to teach him and asked him to come again the next day.

It took Ben three days to learn how to bake cookies without burning them. Mary’s mother told him how to operate the oven safely and even offered to help him bake a few batches of cookies, but he refused.

“I want to bake them all by myself,” he told her.

For the next few days, Ben baked cookies while Julie was at work and sold them to his neighbors. “I’m selling them to buy a gift for my mom,” he would tell everyone.

When Ben’s neighbors learned...