Little Sally Seashell
Copyright ©1990-2012 by Nonno Vecchio
All Rights Reserved
Dedication: This story was written by Nonno many years ago when his children were children. He wrote this story for his youngest son and dedicates it now to him and his team mates who are serving our country overseas. We're all proud of you guys and girls! Thank you for your service!
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Little Sally Seashell and she lived by the seashore. Every day after school, Sally would go walking the beach up and down,
up and down, up and down, looking for sea shells to sell to the tourists from out of town. You see, Sally came from a very poor family. Her mommy and her daddy had lost their jobs and were struggling to pay the rent on the house in which they lived. They had to get help from the city, from the county, and from the local churches just to pay the bills. Fortunately for Sally and her family however, they lived in a city that understood the responsibility of helping those in need even if the President and his staff in Washington did not.
Well, all the local townspeople chipped in and helped Sally sell her seashells to the tourists from out of town. They understood what it meant for the little girl to be able to help her family in their time of need. So Mr. Brown the local carpenter, provided the wood that Sally needed to set up her sea shell stand. And Mr. Smith, the local painter, provided the paint and made the fancy designs that attracted the people who came to Sally's stand. And Mrs. Obermeyer, the mayor's wife, took it upon herself to check on Sally throughout the afternoon to make sure the girl was safe.
You see, everybody liked little Sally Seashell and her family! Her daddy had been a hero in the war. And her mommy had been the nurse who helped patch him up when he got hurt. That's how they met and fell in love. After the war was over, they got married, moved to the seashore, bought a house, and had little Sally. For several years, everything was peachy keen. Then one day, things turned bad for mommy and daddy. The companies they worked for went out of business and they lost their jobs. All across the country businesses were closing and people were losing their jobs too. Sally's parents did their best but sadly there just wasn't enough work to be found.
One day when Sally was supposed to be in bed asleep, she heard her mommy and her daddy crying and praying and asking God to help.
“God,” Little Sally prayed from her bed, “please God, let me help my mommy and daddy," she prayed. And that night she had a dream and saw herself selling seashells to the people from out of town. In the morning, she woke up all excited and couldn't wait to tell mommy and daddy her idea! Well, mommy and daddy liked to encourage their little girl but they were depressed and in despair and they just weren't sure her idea would be a good one. They were very surprised when the Township showed up to help Sally out.
So every day after school Sally would walk the beach looking for pretty sea shells that she could clean up, polish and sell from her stand on the weekends. And for several months Sally did a really good job but sea shells were getting scarce and it was becoming harder and harder to find good ones that she could sell for a decent price. Every day found Sally walking farther and farther and farther up and down the beach. And that's when it happened.
One day, Sally walked much farther than she ever had before and when she turned around she was lost. She didn't recognize any of the landmarks that she had been taught. She got scared. And she began to cry. And to make matters worse the tide was coming in and the weather was changing. As the rain moved across the water and the thunder and the lightning started Little Sally looked for someplace in which to take refuge. She looked as hard as she could and finally found an old boat that had been turned over and was just lying on the beach. So she crawled under the boat to get out of the rain. And it was dark inside that little boat. Sally began to get scared and didn't 
know what to do. Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the sky. And when it did, it gave her enough light to see that there was a tiny cave the boat was resting on.
So Sally climbed into the cave and crawled farther and farther and farther back. Pretty soon, Sally fell asleep because she was tired from walking up and down the beach. And she slept, and she slept, and she slept.
Well, around dinner time Sally's mother realized that Sally had not yet come home. So she went to the beach to look for her little girl. She became concerned when she couldn't find her daughter, so she went home and called Mrs. Obermeyer to ask if Sally was with her.
"No," said Mrs. Obermeyer, "I haven't seen her all afternoon."
"Neither have I," said Sally's mother, "she never came home from school. Daddy and I figured she had gone sea shell hunting and didn't become concerned until this storm came up and now it's dinner time and Sally still isn't home!" Sally's mother began to panic.
Well Mrs. Obermeyer, being a good neighbor, told Sally's mother, “There, there now, I'm sure she's just waiting for the storm to blow over.”
“Yes, of course you must be right, still she's never been out this late.” said Sally's mother. “I think I'm going to go out and look for her.”
“I'll join you dear,” said Mrs. Obermeyer.
So Sally's mother and Mrs. Obermeyer met at the beach and they walked up and down, up and down, up and down. They walked a mile in one direction and when they didn't find Sally they turned around and walked back the way they had come. And still they didn't find Sally. Well, now even Mrs. Obermeyer was becoming concerned. She called her husband the mayor and told him what was going on. It wasn't long before the mayor had called all the townspeople together and they began to look for little Sally Seashell. In the meantime, Sally's mother called Sally's daddy and told them that they couldn't find Sally anywhere. He headed out to the beach too. Now the entire town was combing the beach looking for Little Sally Seashell.
In the meantime, Sally woke up and found herself getting wet. “Oh no!” Sally said to herself, “the tide must be coming in what do I do?” And she became very scared.
Well, her mommy and her daddy had always told her when you get scared there's only one thing you can do. And that's pray and ask God for help. So that's just what she did. “God?” She bowed her head and put her hands together and prayed. “I'm lost. I'm very scared. I can't swim very well. And now the water's coming into my cave and I don't know what to do. I need help - please?” And then Sally cried.
While Sally was praying, the mayor called the news station and had the news crew come out and now everybody for miles and miles around was out at the beach helping to look for Little Sally Seashell. They looked everywhere! They looked in holes, they looked under rocks, they looked under porches at the beachfront houses, they checked the public restrooms, they looked everywhere! But they still couldn't find Sally. As a matter of fact, several people, including Sally's mommy and daddy, had walked past the boat that hid the cave Little Sally was in three times already. There were no footprints to be found because the rain had washed them away. Now the tide was coming in, the water was rising, and the people were becoming concerned.
“Mr. Mayor,” Sally's daddy asked, “I don't know what else to do! My little girl is lost and I don't know what else to do.” Sally's mommy and daddy were amazed at all the people who turned out to help and they were humbled by the experience but now they were scared because their little girl was missing and the tide was rising. Mommy and Daddy broke down in tears and started crying.
“Now would be a good time,” said the mayor, “for us to stop what we're doing and ask for help. Pastor?” The local minister had also come out to help and he had his entire church were looking as well. They were turning over rocks and everything else they found but still they couldn't find Little Sally Seashell. And the interesting thing is nobody thought to turn the boat over to see what was inside. So the pastor did what pastors do best, he called all the people together, and he prayed.
“Lord? We really need your help right now. This little girl, Little Sally Seashell, is lost and we don't know where to find her." As the pastor prayed, the storm grew more intense. Lightning began striking around the little group hitting the water and the sand. The thunder was booming directly over head and the people were becoming concerned for their own safety as well as the little girl's. But still, the little town refused to give up and they continued to pray. “The entire town is here Lord, and we're looking desperately for this little girl. Would you please help and tell us where she is?”
While the pastor was praying, there were some murmurs among the crowd, some people said to themselves and to others, “Why is he talking to somebody who is not there? What good is that going to do? Doesn't he know that he's just wasting time?” And as they asked that the storm got more and more fierce and people got really scared. Suddenly, lightning struck the boat and split it in two and then the storm stopped! The noise the boat made when it split asunder could be heard for half a mile down the beach in each direction. And of course, Little Sally Seashell heard it as well and when she did she yelped!
"Quiet!" yelled the mayor, "Everybody quiet!" And the townspeople became as still as church mice. Slowly, Sally's whimpers could be heard filtering up from underground.
“She's here!” called Mr. Brown pointing toward the cave. “There's a cave over here right under the boat!” And everybody came running!
“Sally! Sally!” yelled Sally's mother. “It's Mommy! It's Mommy! Come to Mommy, darling!” And from deep within the cave everyone could hear Sally's whimpers sto and Sally said, “Mommy?” And the entire town cheered!
Well, it wasn't long before people had produced shovels and were digging their way to Little Sally. Within just a few minutes Sally was safe back in her mommy and daddy's arms and everybody had gathered round and were patting Mommy and Daddy on the back and were hugging little Sally to themselves as well.
“Oh, Sally!” Mommy said to Sally, “you had us so worried!”
“Oh, Mommy,” Sally said hugging Mommy tighter, "I was so scared but then I remembered what you and Daddy always told me. When you're scared pray and ask God for help. And that's just what I did and God helped!”
“Yes, I believe He did!” Said Mommy and Daddy together.
“Father,” said the pastor as he led everyone in prayer, “we thank you for your help in finding Little Sally Seashell and for keeping her safe. We thank you that all of our townspeople have it in their hearts to help those in need. Thank you!”
Those who didn't believe in God went away thinking perhaps they had been wrong after all and those who did believe in God knew that He had truly answered their prayers that night.
As a result of the townspeople's efforts and the attention from the news crews, people all over the country learned about Sally and her family. It wasn't long before orders began coming in from all over the world for one of Sally's sea shells. Sally hired her mommy and daddy to help fill the orders and very quickly the family were back on their feet once again. God had truly blessed them!
So, remember: when all seems lost and you feel all alone and scared, bow your head and pray and ask God for help. He will help in ways you least expect!
THE END