Dano's Dinosaur: A Christmas Story

The Story of Dano's Dinosaur has been in my family since before I was born... because it happened to my parents before I was born.  It makes me cry almost every time I read it.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Dano’s Dinosaur

Trevor and I had been married almost a year, and we lived in a run down apartment building in South Orem, both students. The church had asked us to be Primary teachers of the seven year olds. These kids were beautiful, smart, good hearted, fun loving, clean, well dressed, loving, sweet little children and we adored them all. We had a set of identical twin girls, 2 boys and 3 other girls. 

As I prepared to give them our Christmas lesson, I worried and thought about what I could give them for a gift. We didn’t have any money to buy them anything, but I had everything I needed to make them each a sock puppet kit. In a paper bag I assembled a colored sock, used but in good shape, yarn, buttons, and instructions. I stapled the bags up, added a bow and name tag, and brought them to our Primary Class, aware that it was a very modest gift. I hoped the children might enjoy making the puppet anyway. As they filed in, I noticed we were missing one of the children, who had gone visiting out of town for the holiday.

Then in walked Dano. He had a long mop of wavy, light brown hair, and was dressed surprisingly. His jeans had holes in the knees, and his converse sneakers had a hole in one of the toes. It was WINTER. There was snow outside! Brrr, I thought. Everyone was introduced to Dano, and we settled down for our lesson. I loved observing the children with Dano, who didn’t seem to notice what he was wearing, or judge him in any way. They just accepted him. I watched with interest as he eyed the sad little "presents" I had invented. 

After the lesson and prayer, I passed out the presents as the children left one by one. Dano waited patiently as I rearranged to have his name on the tag. 

As I gave him the small brown sack, his reaction was something I will never forget! "Oh, thank you so, so much! I didn’t think I was going to get anything at ALL for Christmas! Thank you!" He wrapped his arms around my waist, and gave me a spontaneous hug. Then he stepped back and did something so sweet and unexpected: The boy reached into his worn jeans pocket to retrieve the small treasure he had brought from home with him. He held out his hand, and smiled huge, "Here! This is for YOU! Merry Christmas!" On the palm of his little hand lay a small, green, plastic dinosaur. 

It was all he had with him, and he wanted me to have it. He wanted to give ME something! Such a small, humble gift, from a little boy, in ragged clothes, yet he gave it with all his heart, in a spirit of giving. It was such an incredibly sweet moment. His gratitude for my simple offering, and his genuine desire to reciprocate, touched me deeply.

That year, Trevor and I had a miniature Christmas Tree. I had nothing to top it, so out of scraps of fabric, gold curling ribbon, and stuffing, I made a small angel, and drew a little face for her. She stood atop the Christmas tree as I tied a thin, white silk ribbon around the green dinosaur, under its front legs, and hung him next to her, and we have had him on our tree every year since.

We alerted the Church Leaders of the needs we saw, after finding out he and his two older sisters resided in a tiny hotel room, with one bed, and a tiny kitchen. The single mother family had fallen on very hard times. She was wheel chair bound, in a cast up to her hip. For Christmas, the girls wanted Trapper Keepers, like the other children all had at school. We found a few toys for Dano, and the Relief Society went to see how they could help. 

And so, our Ward embraced this struggling family in a spirit of love and service. The children received church clothes, and other physical needs were met. After several weeks, we went to the hotel to check on them. They had moved on.

Twenty three years later, we still unpack the ornaments, and the one our children most want to find and hang on the tree is the small, green dinosaur. It looks like a platypus, or harmless herbivore. They have enjoyed hearing the story of a little boy who had nearly nothing, but gave everything he had with him. He brought the dinosaur for security, to a meeting where he was unsure how he would be received. I am so very blessed that he came to MY class, and can honestly say that I instantly loved him as much as the others: little Dano, with the huge heart, and a ready gift!

Christ came, too, as a little child, to await finding how He would be received. He was born in the humblest of circumstances, and it was He, the Christ, who gave everything he had with him: His love, teachings, His healing power, and His very life. Some of us may feel we have very little, and may be overwhelmed with problems and trials. It is this Christ who will never leave us, who will bless us with His love and peace, despite our circumstances, and even bless us with miracles, if we will but have faith and look to Him always. If we feel hopeless, we must check what our hope is anchored in. For true and lasting hope, we can reach out to the only sure anchor, our never changing, eternally loving Savior. I bless the day Dano taught me how to give like Him.

That's an actual picture of Dano's dinosaur that we still hang up on the Hart Family Christmas tree every year.  I hope you all liked that story!  Go ahead, print it off, and read it to your family when everyone's gathered. :)