Once upon a time,
in a leather wallet a little torn,
lived a small, small penny,
his spirit just born.

All his life, he watched money come and go,
bills and coins, smooth paper checks.
Who would leave next,
he could never really know.

Deep in the cozy wallet,
the penny was tucked away.
No matter how hard he wished to leave,
he seemed destined there to stay.

The penny wanted to be spent
on something very beautiful.
Maybe art, maybe gold – 
maybe something musical!

Then one day, a wise old quarter
rolled over and said with a rudeness,
"You'll never get picked to be spent.
We all know a penny is useless."

The penny didn't believe him.
He just couldn't bear that truth.
"Surely I'm good for something..."
But his feelings were hard to soothe.

Yet as time passed by,
the quarter was proven right;
the penny never left,
kept tucked away out of sight.

Then, one normal day,
the penny sat with a pout
when a hand reached in
and suddenly pulled him out!

The penny couldn't believe it;
in fact, he was utterly clueless.
His question then was "Why?"
He still feared he was useless.

The penny was placed
in the gentle hand of a child.
And when the kid made his wish,
to himself, the penny smiled.

Suddenly the penny flew through the air,
turning and tumbling as he fell.
With a plummeting plop! he found himself
in the cool water of a wishing well.

The penny was happy 
in this new home of his.
There were many coin friends 
and his penny relatives.

And the penny knew then that he'd been spent
on something quite important:
hope in a wish that wouldn't perish,
something the child surely cherished.