“Thank you for being my mystery guest. Tell me, all these years of work and you’ve never made a profit? Is your life a comfortable one?”
“Not for profit. For comfort, maybe, but I do get a reward.”
“People pay you?”
“Only in smiles and laughter.”
“You can’t spend happiness.”
“Yet happiness makes life worth living.”
“But you don’t pay your workers anything.”
“They’re all volunteers. We have warm beds to sleep in and our basic needs are met. We don’t need much.”
“Thank you for coming.”
With a smile, the small, rotund man in a red suit and long white beard left the studio.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Ross's Writing Blog 
Denise Krebs
April 21, 2012 at 22:07
Ross,
I like your mystery guest. It was a mystery until the last sentence–a very sweet Saturday morning story. Thanks!
Denise
Ross Mannell
April 22, 2012 at 08:45
Thanks for the comment.
I like to keep posts on this blog light and suitable for children if they stumble on the stories. 🙂
LizB
April 22, 2012 at 01:35
Very clever! I liked it! Stopping over from Jenny Matlock!
Ross Mannell
April 22, 2012 at 08:46
Thanks for the comment.
I take it you guessed who the mystery guest was. 🙂
Judie McEwen
April 22, 2012 at 02:37
Such a happy post, Ross!
Ross Mannell
April 22, 2012 at 08:58
Thanks for the comment.
I think child readers of the story may work out the mystery guest.
grannysueo3
April 22, 2012 at 04:26
Cute and clever!
=)
Mama Zen
April 22, 2012 at 07:07
Great twist at the end!
Ross Mannell
April 22, 2012 at 09:00
Thanks for the comment.
Who works non-profit? I do this for schools and community groups but I wanted a story about someone famous. Who better than the guy in the red suit for a non-profit worker who doesn’t pay his workers. 🙂
Karen S.
April 23, 2012 at 08:07
From the first minute I read your title I couldn’t wait to see what the post would bring! Then as I reading with the highest of interest, it’s like could it be this or that…and then bingo! How wonderful and totally creative this was!
Ross Mannell
April 23, 2012 at 08:51
Thanks for the comment.
I thought I would use the mystery guest idea to leave the reader wondering. As children sometimes visit this site, I imagined them deciding they know who the guest was. 🙂
Tom Goette
April 27, 2012 at 00:04
Very clever take on the prompt, Ross. Loved the twist! Well done!
Jenny Matlock
April 28, 2012 at 08:24
Ross! I loved this! What a neat, neat, neat, neat twist! And your illustration was beyond perfect! I’m glad I didn’t read yours before I wrote mine! This was so perfect, I might not have attempted this difficult prompt!