Little Girl Sells Lemonade on the Street, Cops Suddenly Arrive and Surround Her — Story of the Day

A little girl started selling lemonade in her front yard to help her mother; however, things take a more serious turn when the cops discover her enterprise.

"Barely 20 dollars," little Emily Higgins muttered to herself as she wiped her sweaty brows. She had been under the sun for hours but had only been able to sell a few cups of cool lemonade to passersby.

There was not a lot of foot traffic, to begin with, and those who stopped to buy often walked away when they heard each cup cost five dollars. They thought she was cute, but not that cute.

As the sun set that evening, Emily was disappointed that she had only been able to make ten more dollars in addition to the 20 she had earlier gotten. She was about to give up and pack her things when a cop motorcycle rolled to a stop in front of the table she had set up.

A tall cop with a stoic face and bushy mustache got down from the motorcycle. He had a scar that ran from his chin and down the side of his neck — the scar was faded, but it was visible enough to command the 10-year-old's attention.

She was so focused on the mark that she jumped when the man spoke in a gravelly voice. "Do you have a license?" He asked, his face showing no hint of friendliness.

"I'm afraid not sir," she said, squinting as she looked up at him.

"Do you pay taxes?" he asked again.

"No," she answered.

"Then I have to arrest you," the cop said.

"Please, no. You can't do that," Emily cried. "I'd rather you help me instead."

"And why would I do that?" the cop asked.

"Because the doctors say something is wrong with me so they'll need to look inside me," she answered.

It took a few seconds for the police officer, whose name tag identified him as Colinton, to realize that the girl meant an operation. "I'm sick, you see," the girl finished. "I need to help my mother so she can afford the bills so please don't arrest me, officer."

The policeman felt saddened by what she told him and the simple way she said it as though it was nothing. Here was a child who needed help, not a reprimand, he thought to himself.

"OK little girl, I won't arrest you this time. Can I have two cups of lemonade?" he asked.

"That'll be five dollars for each officer," she said with a toothy grin.

"That's fine. The second one is for you — a reward for your hard work," he told her as he accepted his lemonade.

"Thank you sir," she said then downed her cup.

The following day, Emily joined her mother, Mrs. Mraz, for a visit to the doctor. "Give me good news doctor," the woman said, worry plain in every line of her body.

"As I told you last time you came, she is responding to the drugs well, but surgery is her best option. Your child has a great chance of survival," the doctor explained. "But the tumor in her brain will soon start growing at an exponential rate and when it grows to a certain mass, it will become impossible to operate on her."

"OK doctor, I'll see what I can do," Emily's mother said.

As she left the hospital with Emily, tears rolled down her cheeks because she knew there was no way she could come up with the $10,000 needed for the operation. Insurance would cover $5,000, but the rest was still too much for her to come up with.

"Don't cry mom, everything will be just fine, you'll see," Emily tried to comfort her.

"I know sweetheart," Mrs. Mraz said.

The next day, Emily employed the help of her friend in making more lemonade to sell. She was determined to help her mother no matter the cost.

Sales were just as slow as the other day, and Emily had started getting worn down by the polite rejections. Things dragged on like that for hours until suddenly, the street was filled with siren sounds from several dozens of police motorcycles.

They were led by the same stoic officer who had bought lemonade from her her days before. "I thought you could use the crowd," he said to her with a smile.

Dozens of cops surrounded her and bought all of her lemonade that day, some at higher prices. They also asked her to make more lemonade so they could buy more, and she promised to.

When she arrived home, she told her mom about what happened and presented the cash she had made. The woman burst into tears and hugged her tightly.

"Can mommy help?" she asked.

"You're hired," Emily said.

The next day, mother and daughter were at the lemonade stand, and the cops once again came around. Soon, cops from all over the city were buying their lemonade, and they made a lot in the days that followed.

When they returned to the hospital for the surgery, they had $12,000, so they didn't have to touch the insurance money, and there was still some cash left over after the surgery.

It went extremely well, and Emily was declared tumor-free later on. She lived a long life and even had kids of her own, but she never forgot the random act of kindness she received from one police officer.

What did we learn from this story?

• Random acts of kindness can go a long way. Emily would never have made enough money selling lemonade to random strangers on the street, and the officer knew that. Not only did he not arrest her for selling without a license, but he also brought his friends over to support her, which gave her the opportunity to make more than enough money for the surgery.
• Sometimes parents need help. Mrs. Mraz was not rich, and she knew it would be difficult to earn what was needed to treat her daughter. It made her cry, but she did not ask for help because she felt it was her responsibility to look out for her child. Thankfully, she didn't need to ask; Emily took matters into her own hands and started selling lemonade. At the end of the day, that was what saved her. Parents may not often say it, but sometimes, even they need saving.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a policeman who was greeted by a little girl he always saw by the window while he was on patrol. One day, she wasn't there, so he checked the house to find out why.

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