Two Nickels and Five Pennies In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a
10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of
water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty
cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and
studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he
inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream,
put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the
cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and
then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two
nickels and five pennies - her tip.
