2019
The Little Red Harmonica
October 2019


“The Little Red Harmonica,” Friend, October 2019

The Little Red Harmonica

The author lives in Utah, USA.

Could Katie be the answer to Ryan’s prayer?

“Help me with others my blessings to share” (Children’s Songbook, 22).

Image
sister and brother playing with red harmonicas

Illustrations by Kellan Stover

Katie smiled as she hurried to her piano lesson. Today was Store Day! Every time she practiced the piano, she earned points to spend on prizes. Katie had worked hard, and she couldn’t wait to see all the cool things she could buy.

She looked at the row of prizes carefully. There were candy bars, colored pencils, baseball cards, and even a book of jokes. Then Katie noticed two little red and white boxes. She picked one up and opened it. Inside the box was a shiny red harmonica. The other box had a shiny red harmonica too.

Katie counted up her points. She had enough for the harmonica. In fact, she had enough for both harmonicas! She would give the other one to her little brother Ryan. He was going to be so excited! Katie could hardly wait.

When Katie got home, she tied a little ribbon around the box and gave it to her brother. “My own harmonica?” Ryan asked when he opened it.

“Yeah!” Katie said. She pulled out her matching harmonica to show him. “We both have one!”

“How will we tell them apart?” he asked.

Katie showed him where she had marked an “R” in black marker on the side of his harmonica. “Yours has an ‘R’ for Ryan, and mine has a ‘K’ for Katie.”

Ryan smiled. He took a deep breath and blew into his harmonica. Then he laughed. “You’re the best,” he said.

Katie loved seeing how happy the harmonica made Ryan. He carried it in his pocket everywhere he went. He even tucked it under his pillow before he went to bed.

A few days later, Ryan came inside from helping Dad in the yard. He was crying. “What’s wrong?” Katie asked.

“My harmonica,” Ryan said. “I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I’ll help you look for it,” said Katie. They went outside and crawled through the grass, searching behind bushes and under rocks. Dad helped them look too.

“Do you think we should say a prayer?” Ryan asked. “Maybe Heavenly Father can help us find my harmonica.”

“That’s a great idea,” Dad said.

They knelt down in the grass and Ryan said a prayer. “Heavenly Father, please help us find my harmonica.”

The three of them kept looking, but it was nowhere to be found. Ryan went to bed without his harmonica under his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

Seeing Ryan so sad made Katie feel sad too. “Heavenly Father, please help Ryan to not feel so upset. Please help him find his harmonica.” Katie finished her prayer and climbed into bed.

Then an idea popped into her mind.

She crawled out of bed and pulled out her own little red harmonica. She washed it with soap and water. She could still see the “K” written on the side, but the harmonica’s shiny red color made it look brand new. After Ryan fell asleep, Katie sneaked into his room and slipped the harmonica under his pillow. Then she went back to bed and tried to fall asleep. She was so excited to see Ryan’s face. It felt like waiting for Christmas morning!

The next day, Katie woke up extra early. Soon Ryan was awake too. She heard him yell in surprise and ran to his room. Ryan was holding the harmonica, smiling big. “Look! It’s my harmonica!”

Then Ryan noticed the little “K” written on the side. “Wait,” he said. “This one’s yours.”

“I know,” said Katie. “It’s for you!”

“Really?” Ryan asked. “But I thought Heavenly Father was going to answer my prayer.”

“I think He did,” Katie said back with a big smile. “He just let me help Him!”