A single father who had been laid off from his job was watching expenses closely for months while applying for every job he could find in his field.

Months earlier, he’d made a promise to his two sons— twins —that he’d take them to a nearby amusement park to celebrate their 10th birthday.

When the day came, the father withdrew some money from his savings, and took his two sons to the amusement park. Explaining that the walk was good for them, he skipped the parking fee by parking blocks away, knowing he’d need the extra cash to pay for lunch. When they finally reached the front gate, he saw a sign with two prices listed: one for “General Admission” and one for “Children under 10”. The father realized, he could have spent half as much if he’d come just one day sooner. With a sigh, he led the boys up to the ticket window and said, “Three general admission tickets, please.” 

The woman in the booth looked them over and smiled.

“How old are you boys?”

“Today is my birthday, I just turned 10,” said one boy.

“So am I,” said the other. “We’re twins!”

The woman leaned forward. “You know,” she whispered, “you could have asked for two ‘Under 10’ tickets, and I never would have known.”

“Yeah,” said the father, “but they would have.”