Two presents sat beneath a Christmas tree.
Beautiful gold paper and curly red ribbons concealed the gift in one. Old tattered newspaper and masking tape concealed the gift in the other.
On Christmas morning, the little girl's father told her she could choose only one to open. The other would be given away.
Naturally, she chose the one wrapped in gold and ribbons. But disappointment filled her face when she ripped off the paper and found nothing inside.
After much begging and pleading, her father smiled and told her she could keep and open the other gift, as well. Inside, she found the iPad for which she had been longing since July.
The little girl climbed onto her daddy's lap and planted a kiss on his cheek, thanking him for the gift.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked.
"Oh yes!" said the little girl, but then a look of puzzlement slowly formed in her eyes. "But I don't understand why you would spend time wrapping up a box in such beautiful paper when it has nothing inside it."
The father smiled. "My dear," he said. "That box did contain something. It held a very important lesson."
"Really?" the little girl asked. "What's that?"
"Don't be so quick to discard something because of the way it looks. In the end, the packaging matters very little. True worth is found on the inside."
Merry Christmas!
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