A Penny for Candy was a
children’s book from the 40’s. In it, three children are playing together when one finds a penny in the grass.
Windfall! They head off, jumping and turning
somersaults to the
candy store. Suddenly, what luck, another child spies another penny!. More joy, more cartwheels on the way to the store. Lo and
behold, soon the last child finds yet another penny.
They arrive at the door, slavering with greed, and each dithers over choosing. But when it is time to pay—-well, of course, it is the same penny that kept falling out of pockets and being refound.
A moral for our times. Tax refund, how shall I spend thee? let me count the ways.
Of course, until the dollar coin becomes more widely distributed, this story isn’t likely to happen nowadays. Somehow, the thought of a modern trio of kids reach finding the same 79 cents over and over while rushing to get a Hershey Bar lacks the same credibility.