The Magic Mittens

The Magic Mittens

Rebecca sat in her favorite easy chair with her young granddaughter Becky in her lap. It was Christmas morning and she had just given Becky the gift she had bought for her. Becky tore into the colorful striped wrapping paper with all of the enthusiasm one would expect from a 6 year old child. Removing the lid, Becky found it was a beautiful pair of mittens. Tossing the packaging aside, she quickly placed the mittens on her hands.

"Look grandma, they fit," she exclaimed holding her hands in the air so her grandmother could see.

"Why yes they do and they look beautiful on you dear," she said with a great smile on her face.

Her grandfather entered the room and Becky showed off the mittens to him as well. "Look grandpa, aren't they pretty?

"That they are. Did your grandma ever tell you about her mittens?" he asked while glancing over slyly at his wife.

"Grandma, tell me about your mittens," she said.

"Very well," she answered and began to tell her the story.

Well, you see, when I was younger, much younger," she smiled as she thought back to those days." I received a pair of mittens just like those for Christmas. They were the prettiest pair of mittens I had ever seen. My father, you’re great grandfather had been in Chicago for business and brought them home for me. He said they were the finest mittens money could buy and to top it off, they were magic mittens."

Magic mittens, grandma?" questioned the young girl

That is what he said. My father told me that these mittens would keep my hands warm no matter what the temperature was outside, but they always had to be worn together in order for the magic to work. He said he purchased them from a gypsy man he met while walking downtown one night and this gypsy had cast a spell them that gave the mittens their magic.

"He cast a spell?" asked Becky now looking down at her mittens again.

"Well," her grandmother laughed. "Father was always making up stories like that, but the little tag inside showed me that he had purchased them at Woolworths. I went along with his story anyway and thanked him over and over again. They were tan with a single red stripe around the wrist area and fit perfectly on my hands. As soon as I put them on, I could feel the warmth they provided and began to think perhaps they really were magic. I could not wait to go back to school after the holidays so I could show them off to my all of my friends.

That year, I remember, the winter was very harsh and the temperatures stayed well below freezing. It had snowed the entire last night of our Christmas vacation and when I awoke there was a beautiful blanket of white on the ground and I was so excited to show off my mittens. I picked out the perfect outfit to go along with them, red corduroy slacks with a tan and red striped sweater. I ate breakfast quickly and said goodbye to mother and father and headed out into the snow.

I met up with my best friend Cindy and showed her my mittens…she loved them. I told her that my father said they were magic and she just laughed and said, that sounds like your dad.

About halfway to school I was hit in the back by something, I turned around to look and saw a group of boys throwing snow balls at us. They were a little older than us, but we joined in anyway. The snow was wet and good for packing and we spent the next 10 minutes or so throwing snow balls at one another, when … I threw one as hard as I could and my mitten stuck to the wet snow and went flying in their direction. I started to run towards them to retrieve my mitten and they all ran off laughing. Cindy and I went to where they had been standing, but we could not find the mitten anywhere. I was devastated and could not believe I had already lost one of my mittens. I put my hands in my pockets and instantly noticed that not only the mitten-less hand was cold, but so was the one that still wore one of the “magic” mittens.

Well that day at school was no fun for me and I was not looking forward to going home and telling my parents I had lost one of my new mittens. I was in eighth grade and those boys I’m sure were in high school, so I did not see any of them during the day, but maybe I thought, I would see them on the way home, but that was not the case.

I walked in the front door and called out to my Mom so I could tell her what had happened. She was on the phone in the kitchen, so I went upstairs and changed my clothes while waiting for the call to end. As was walking back down the stairs the door bell rang. I ran to the front door and when I opened it, the cutest boy I had ever seen was standing there. He introduced himself as William and then held out his hand. In it was my missing mitten. I recognized him as one of the boys at the snow ball fight and thanked him for bringing my mitten back to me. Then I asked him why he took it? He swore he didn’t take it. He said it had been one of his friends and he didn’t think it was right, so he took it from him and brought it back to me. It wasn’t until after we were married that he confessed he had taken the mitten so he could use it as an opportunity to meet me.

“Did you really take her mitten, Grandpa Bill?” questioned little Becky as she moved and took up residence on his lap.

“Yes, I suppose I did,” he answered with a smile.

“And were they really magic, Grandma?” she asked?

Rebecca looked at her husband and replied, “Well, Grandpa and I have been married for 57 years, so yes I believe they were magic.”

“And are my mittens magic, too?” asked the young child.

“Oh yes, very magic,” said her Grandpa. “So don’t lose one while you are playing outside today.”

“I won’t,” she responded.

“Unless of course if you see a cute boy and throw it to him on purpose,” said her grandmother winking at her husband.

“You mean…?” he asked

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