A Knight Always Helps!

I've been enjoying a place in Edinburgh called The Meadows. A beautiful area with a phenomenal park and fields lined with trees. Students play sports where great intellectuals once enjoyed their leisurely walks, hundreds of years ago. Of all these wonderful things, nothing beats a little knight "C" and I met this week.

We stopped to watch some men's football (a.k.a. soccer, not American football) when I noticed a little boy walking with his father. This adorable 6 year old was wearing a full on knight's suit: helmet, shield, breastplate, you name it. Right then, the game ball shot out of bounds and past the little knight. His face lit up with a smile and he cried, "A knight always helps!" Then he took off to retrieve the ball as quick as his little legs could carry him. The player sent to retrieve the ball blew past the knight, grabbed the ball and started jogging back. The whole field froze in horror at the sight of the knight's crestfallen face. His heroic efforts had been thwarted.

As he slowly shuffled back, his father (noticing our dismay) quickly told us, "He is always trying to help people. With anything! He loves returning things that people drop, for example. So if you want..."

I looked down at my house keys and then back at the knight who was now near tears. I "sneakily" (ha.) tossed my keys onto the path. With the straightest face I could muster (haha.) I asked, "C, where could my keys have gone? I just had them! I must have dropped them somewhere!" The little knight's face broke into an excited grin. He ran over and proudly handed me my keys.

C and I trilled his praises, "Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for finding my keys! You are such a wonderfully helpful knight! Thank you thank you thank you!" We were instantly rewarded with his proud little grin, "A knight always helps."

Did I mention that I love this place?