THE TRIPLE SEVEN

There was once a slot machine whose magical pay out number was '777'. If the player hit this number, by inserting a coin and pulling the lever and the rolling numbers ended on triple seven, he would have hit the jackpot and win a million dollars. Day after day and year after year, people would insert money in the slot, and pull the lever, full of the exitement and expectation of becoming a millionaire. But most of the players were drunks hoping to get rich quick, or the gullible public hoping to make a million instantly, with no sacrifice or effort on their part. There were even rich people playing the machine, hoping to become richer than they already were. Because of all these people's greed and folly the machine refused to pay out the jackpot. People would play day and night, believing the 777 would bring them luck, and untold riches. But he refused to cough up more than a few dollars at a time, taking much more than he ever would pay out. Until one day when a little old lady came and sat before him. She was proud and no beggar or thief. She threw in her last few dollars with quiet determination, hoping only to get enough money to pay her rent, and buy her monthly groceries. The machine had never seen such complete and utter faith in a player. Her unselfishness was incomprable. Her faith was solid as rock. If she lost her last few coins in life, she would leave with the grace and acceptance of old age a wisdom. She would make another plan to make ends meet, as she had all her life. She would be fine within herself as always. He realized then that he had finally come across a worthy winner, and after all those years of non-complaince, he rolled his numbers slowly, and suddenly, miraciously, the screen stopped on '777'. Bells rang loudly on the casino floor, indicating the winner of the jackpot, and the old machine just would not stop spitting out coins. Faith and decency are the only things that should be rewarded with wealth and riches. He had never seen a good person so happy, and he was glad that he had made a lifelong friend at last. Love over gold.