When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas,he wasn't his usual sunny self. He told me a customer had left without paying the bill,$79,nor leaving her new address. So it meant that he had to cover the loss. "She was a pretty woman,"he said, "with six children and another on the way. She was always saying. 'I'm going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job.' I believed her,but she left. Isn't it annoying?" "Give her the milk. Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it." I said. The holidays came and went. On a sunny January morning two weeks later,Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street,waving money. He recognized her immediately--the woman who didn't pay her bill. "I'm so sorry." she said. "I really have been meaning to pay you." She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he' d found cheaper apartment. He' d also got a new job. With all that happened, she' d forgotten to leave the new address. "But I've been saving," she said. "Here's $20 toward the bill. "That' s all right," Ben replied. "It's been paid." "Paid!" she exclaimed  . "What do you mean? Who paid it?" "I did," Ben said, "It went to the children as a Christmas present!" The author helped Ben by offering him   _  .
a Christmas present the debtor' s new address some money to cover the loss a suggestion to cheer him up