The Magic Coin
Lily Finds a Magical Coin
Chapter 1
LILY FINDS A MAGICAL COIN
“TWENTY-FIVE CENTS?! But a piece of candy used to be ONE CENT!”
Lily didn’t have a quarter with her, and she wasn’t sure she would pay that much for a piece of candy even if she did have one. She turned around to go home.
Just a few steps from the candy store, she saw something shiny on the ground. It was a coin! She picked it up.
What Lily saw confused her. The coin was bigger than a quarter, and even though it looked a little old, it was brighter than the gray quarters in her piggy bank at home. On the face a smiling man sported a bowtie and thick-rimmed glasses.
Suddenly, the coin started
E X P A N D I N G,
and it made a ringing sound, like a bell. In her shock, Lily dropped the coin, which had become quite heavy.
The coin clinked as it hit the ground, and it wobbled noisily without coming to a rest. It looked like it was beginning to spin even faster. Finally, it spun itself upright and started
Lily took a step back and looked around. The few people around her seemed completely unaware of the floating coin, which had grown the size of Lily’s head and stopped spinning.
Then the face of the man on the coin turned toward Lily and said, “Twenty-five cents for a piece of candy is an outrage! But the problem isn’t with the candy or even the candy store owner. The problem is with that penny in your pocket.”
Lily was speechless. She wasn’t scared, but she didn’t quite know what to say to a magical floating coin.
“Let me introduce myself: I’m Newton, which I know is a little funny, since I’m defying all the laws of physics. But I’m not here to talk about physics. I’m here to show you
WHAT GOVERNMENT HAS DONE TO OUR MONEY!”
Lily blinked and then finally spoke, “You’re going to show me? How?”
Newton laughed. His laugh was a little high-pitched and nasal but endearing all the same. “Just watch!”
The coin started spinning again, but this time there was a faint white glow around it that became brighter and brighter until all Lily could see through her squinting eyes was white light.
