Grandma Scolds Girl for Odd Drawings until Famous Cartoonist Appears at Their Doorstep – Story of the Day

Bonnie raises her orphan granddaughter alone, but she hates 10-year-old Amy’s art and wants her to stop drawing. When a famous cartoonist appears at her doorstep, Bonnie makes a decision that breaks Amy’s heart.

When her 10-year-old granddaughter, Amy, didn’t answer Bonnie’s call to come and eat dinner, she went upstairs to fetch her. Amy sat at her desk, her headphones on. At first, Bonnie thought Amy was studying. Then, she noticed the drawing sheet on the table.

"Amy!" Bonnie screamed. "Are you doing those strange doodlings again?"

The girl spun around and removed her headphones. "Granny? I-I was just—"

Bonnie stormed up to Amy's desk. She tried to cover the drawing, but it was too late.

"Did you finish your math homework, little girl?" Bonnie asked sternly. "Mrs. Warren called me today, Amy! She said you've been ignoring her assignments!"

Amy nervously said she’d finished the homework, but Bonnie knew she was lying. She demanded to see Amy’s math workbook. All Bonnie found inside it was blank pages of unanswered sums.

"Dear God! I'm sick of that silly hobby of yours, Amy! No more drawings! Do you hear me?" Bonnie said stiffly. "Those odd doodlings won’t help you in the future! You finish your dinner and then complete your homework. And yes, you are grounded, young lady!"

Amy's shoulders slumped. "I-I'll finish the homework," she said quietly. "But I-I want to see my friends...Please."

"Then, you must earn my permission by being good and doing well in school! Now come down for dinner!" Bonnie replied angrily and stormed out of Amy's room.

While Amy and Bonnie ate dinner in tense silence, the doorbell rang. Bonnie went to answer it and found a sharply dressed man in his early 40s on the threshold.

"Yes?" Bonnie asked, confused. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh my god, Mr. Henderson?" Amy yelled from inside. She raced past Bonnie to shake the man’s hand.

A wave of dread swept over Bonnie as she watched Mr. Henderson and Amy talking. Mr. Henderson was a famous New York-based cartoonist known for his contemporary caricature. He worked for an art magazine.

Bonnie knew his arrival was bad news. But she reluctantly brought him inside when he said he had something important to tell Amy.

"I received a letter with some samples of your artwork, Amy. You’re very talented," Mr. Henderson said. "In fact, I wrote you letters, but I never got a response."

"You sent me letters?" Amy wondered aloud. Amy noticed Bonnie shifting uneasily in her seat and realized her grandmother had kept the letters from her.

"I did, Amy," Mr. Henderson replied before turning to Bonnie. "Ma'am, your granddaughter has a knack for caricatures. As a member of my magazine's art committee, I'm here to offer Amy an opportunity to apply for our arts training program this summer."

"Amy must pass a test first, but then she'll spend her summer in New York learning under me," Mr. Henderson continued. "If everything goes well, she’ll be able to enroll at my academy later and pursue her passion for art."

"I'm sorry, sir, but that won't be possible," Bonnie snapped as she sprang to her feet. "You may leave. Amy isn’t going anywhere!"

"But Granny…" Amy's eyes welled up. "I want to do this…"

"I said no! Didn't you hear me?" Bonnie said irritably. "You are wasting our time, sir. Please leave."

Mr. Henderson tried to persuade Bonnie and assured her all expenses would be covered, but Bonnie didn’t care. Mr. Henderson sighed and pulled out a file from his briefcase.

"This is the test assignment, Amy," he said, giving her the file.

"I know your Granny is against it, kid, but if you finish this and return it to me by 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow, I can take it to my manager. My flight to New York is at 11 a.m so this is your only chance. I'll be back to fetch your piece."

He gave Amy an encouraging smile and left.

The next day, Amy rushed home after school to work on Mr. Henderson's test. Her face fell when she discovered all her art supplies were missing. Tears welled up in her eyes as she suspected what had happened. She stormed into the kitchen, where Bonnie was preparing lunch.

"Granny, where are my drawing materials?" she shouted angrily.

"I sold them," Bonnie said casually, barely looking at a heartbroken Amy. "The money will go to your college fund."

Amy was devastated. "I hate you, Granny!" she yelled through her tears. "I hate you so much!"

Amy then spun around and stormed outside. She ran down the street, stopped by a pawn shop, and removed her gold bracelet. It had been a gift from her late parents on her birthday. It broke her heart to part with it, but Amy had no choice.

Initially, the man behind the counter refused to pawn the bracelet because of her age. But when Amy offered to take only half of what it was worth and let him keep the rest, he agreed. Amy immediately went and bought new art supplies.

That night, Amy marched to the basement with her supplies. She stayed up all night to produce a drawing she really liked, but then she dozed off on the basement floor. The next morning, she went to the door, but it wouldn’t open. She was locked in.

Amy banged on the door and shouted for Bonnie, but it was pointless. She eventually understood her grandmother had locked her in the basement to stop her from submitting her drawing to Mr. Henderson.

After some frantic searching, she found a chair and used it to climb out the window. She hugged her art supplies and entered the house through the back door to confront her granny.

"You locked me in, Granny!" Amy yelled at her.

Bonnie denied it, but Amy could tell she was lying. The worst part, however, was when Granny told her Mr. Henderson had dropped by and Bonnie had told him Amy wasn’t interested in accepting his proposal.

Amy's heart sank. "But I wanted to do it! You lied to him because you hate my drawings, Granny! You don't want me to become like Mr. Henderson! You locked me in the basement!"

Amy was so distraught that she locked herself in her room. She didn't talk to Bonnie the entire day. Amy didn't even eat breakfast or lunch. While she was sitting in her room alone, she decided to run away and travel to New York alone to meet Mr. Henderson.

Amy packed some things and then crept into Bonnie’s room while she was preparing dinner that evening. She found the letters Mr. Henderson had sent her and wrote his address on a scrap of paper. She found $300, too, and took it. In the quiet of the evening, Amy set out to the bus terminal.

"Excuse me, sir," Amy said to the man at the ticket booth. "Can I get a ticket to New York? Here's the money!"

She pushed a couple of crumpled dollar bills and sticky coins toward the man. He rose from his chair to look at her.

"What are you doing here alone, child?" he asked with a chuckle. "Where are your parents?"

Amy was stuck. She had no idea she'd be asked about her parents. She hung her head, unable to think of a response. The man called the patrol officer after noticing her perplexed expression. When Amy saw the cop walking in her direction, she panicked.

She quickly took her money from the counter and stepped away. "Oh! That's my mommy! I found her!" she exclaimed as she hurried away from the window, pointing to a random woman walking by.

The crowd swallowed her. Amy heaved a sigh of relief, but she buried her chin in her palms as she sat outside on a bench, swinging her legs. Plan A didn’t work. She needed a plan B. But she had no idea how she would get to New York. How would she show her drawing to Mr. Henderson?

While Amy sat there feeling dejected and lost, she noticed a man at the corner of the bus stop. He stood among a group of homeless men but was dressed in a nice shirt and trousers. He was no beggar! Then she noticed he was holding a banner that stated... Amy tilted her head to read it properly.

"I WAS ROBBED. PLEASE HELP ME GET TO NEW YORK!"

Amy's face lit up in a bright smile. The man needed money, and she needed a companion! She dashed to the man and tugged at his shirt.

"Hello, mister! I can help you!" she exclaimed happily.

"Who are you, kid?" he asked, crouching to face her with a friendly smile. "Where are your parents?"

Amy quickly came up with a lie. "Umm…I need to get home to my parents. Can you help me by becoming my fake Daddy and taking me there? I can pay for your tickets. My old Granny gave me some money. She is sick, and she couldn't come with me."

"It's not safe for a kid to travel alone or trust a stranger," he explained. "Why don't you ask the police to help you?"

"They’ll ask me to wait. I miss Mommy and Daddy," Amy said sadly. "My Daddy is in New York. I have his address. Can you please take me there? Here," she said and opened her backpack. "The money."

The man hesitated but eventually agreed. "OK! Deal, kid. But you'll have to promise me that once we reach New York, you’ll get a cop to help you, alright?"

"OK! Thank you!" Amy smiled.

The man assisted her in getting the bus ticket to New York, and they boarded the bus. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived at the Big Apple. After saying goodbye to the kind stranger, Amy headed to the bus terminal's exit, where a police officer stood.

"Hello, sir!" she said to him. "Could you please take me to my Daddy? I'm lost."

Amy gave the cop the note with Mr. Henderson's address. He was confused about how she got to the bus station, but Amy lied and said she’d traveled alone.

The cop and his partner drove Amy to Mr. Henderson's home. As she marched to the front door, the cops followed her because they sensed something was off. Mr. Henderson was stunned to see Amy in his doorway, but it was nothing compared to the shock when she leaped into his arms and chirped: "Daddy!"

The two cops exchanged a glance. "Excuse me, is she really your daughter, sir?" one of them asked.

Mr. Henderson hesitated. "Well, yes, yes, she is. My dear Amy!" he faked a smile, scooping her in his arms. "Is there a problem, officers?"

The cops admonished Mr. Henderson for being careless, but then they left. Amy hurriedly pulled out her test drawing from her backpack and gave it to Mr. Henderson.

"Here," she chirped. "I completed the test task!"

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