Little Johnny Sold a $5 Baseball for $200 — When His Dad Found Out Why, He Couldn’t Believe It

When I was nine, I learned that some people will pay almost anything to keep a secret.

It happened one Saturday afternoon.

Mom thought I was outside playing with my friends, but I was actually hiding in her bedroom closet during a game of hide-and-seek.

Then I heard Dad’s car pull into the driveway.

Mom suddenly rushed into the bedroom with a man I’d never seen before.

“Quick! Get in the closet!” she whispered.

The man climbed inside without noticing me.

We stood there in complete darkness.

After a minute, I whispered, “Hey, mister.”

He nearly jumped.

“Please be quiet,” he said.

I thought for a moment.

“Want to buy my baseball?”

“No.”

“It’s only $200.”

He stared at me.

“Two hundred dollars for a baseball?”

I nodded.

“Or I could ask Dad if he wants to buy it.”

The man immediately handed me the money.

A few days later, Dad found the cash in my bedroom.

“Where did you get $200?”

“I sold my baseball.”

Dad frowned.

“You can’t take advantage of people like that. Who paid you?”

I explained everything.

Dad went very quiet.

Then he asked one final question.

**”Son, what did this man look like?”**

I shrugged.

“Couldn’t tell you, Dad. It was dark in the closet.”

That’s when Dad stopped worrying about the baseball and went looking for Mom.