This is a story about an unusual boy whose nickname was Happy Harry. He was given this name by his friends and older sisters because he was always happy with everything he had and with whatever he was told to do. He even enjoyed taking out the garbage. When asked why, Harry said, “Because the garbage can is heavy and it helps develop my muscles, which makes me strong, and I like being strong.”

“What about raking leaves, what fun do you see in that?” his friends asked.

“Oh,” said Harry, “raking leaves is fun. You see, when I am raking leaves, I think of every leaf being a dollar bill. I have fun raking all those dollars into big piles.”

Well, it so happened that Harry’s sisters became quite upset, because Harry seemed so much happier than they were. So they decided they would try to make him unhappy. After all, it wasn’t normal to be happy all the time. They wanted to teach him a lesson.

One day while Harry was out of the house, his sisters decided to take his bicycle apart. This was sure to make him unhappy. When Harry got home, he found his bicycle scattered in a hundred pieces all over the floor.

“Oh, how wonderful!” he shouted. “You have made me so happy. I have always wanted to learn how to put a bicycle together.”

The sisters couldn’t believe this. “There must be some way to make him unhappy,” they said. Finally the oldest sister, Beth, thought of an answer. “Next week is Harry’s birthday. Why don’t we give him something that will really disappoint him?” They both agreed and began to make plans for the celebration.

On the afternoon of Harry’s birthday, after the cake and ice cream, his mother gave him his first present. It was from Mom and Dad, and it was something Harry had always wanted—his very own fishing rod. Harry was happy, of course, and kissed his parents. He thanked them for making him so happy.

Then his sisters handed him their present. It is really heavy, thought Harry, and he wondered what it could possibly be. It was wrapped in fancy paper. The card that was tied to it said, “Happy birthday to Harry, from your loving sisters.”

Harry could wait no longer to open it. He tore open the wrapping while his sisters began to giggle. Then, he could not believe his eyes. There was a bucket of mud!

“Mud?” Harry questioned. “How could you think of giving me a bucket of mud? This is so thoughtful of you.” To their surprise, he gave both of them a big hug.

He picked up the bucket and ran outside. His parents and sisters followed. When they caught up with him, they found Harry digging in the bucket of mud, looking for live worms that he could use when fishing.

“You see,” said Harry, “something good comes out of almost everything!”