Selling My Niece

I pride myself on being a good uncle.

My nieces are always excited to see me.  I roughhouse with them and read their favorite books to them, over and over.

A couple weeks ago, I blew it big time.

We were teaching my six-year-old niece how to haggle at a neighborhood garage sale.  She's been practicing her addition and was very proud of herself for adding up the cost of the items she was considering buying.

She had picked up two items, one for $.50 and one for $.25.

"How much do you offer the lady, Adelle?", I asked her.

She scrunched up her face while she added the two figures in her head.

"$.75!", she exclaimed proudly.

"Nope", my dad told her.  "Offer her $.50 for both items and see what she says."

Confused, Adelle timidly approached the couple holding the garage sale.  They were an older couple, and they had been watching us with amusement while we instructed my niece.

"I'll give you $.50 for both of these."

The lady had obviously been waiting for a chance to have some fun with my niece.  "I don't think so, honey.  We already marked everything down from yesterday."  Then the couple leaned gleefully forward in their chairs, anticipating what my niece would do next.

Adelle turned to us with wide, panicked eyes and whispered, "She said no.  The lady said no.  What do I do now?"

The gentleman prodded her along, saying "You should learn to barter!"

"What's that?"

At this point, I decided to jump in and help out.  I had been standing off to the side with my youngest niece, age four.  Her name is Carly, and I'm her favorite uncle.

I patted Carly on the head, and told Adelle, "That means you should throw in your sister."

The couple laughed, and the lady said, "We'll take her!"

Carly melted.  She believed me, and was horrified at her new future with the strangers down the street.  I've never seen so many tears from such little eyes.

I had to carry her home and rock her in The Big Chair for nearly an hour, but it was worth it.

Adelle got both items at the bargain price of $.60.