The Jar on the Windowsill
A story about saving up for something big, the days it feels impossible, and what you find on the way.
Mei had wanted a telescope ever since the night her uncle showed her Saturn through his old one. She had seen the rings with her own eyes, thin and golden, and she could not stop thinking about them.
The telescope she wanted cost two hundred and forty dollars. Mei asked her mother, who said it was a lot of money. Mei asked her father, who said she should save for it. So Mei found an empty jam jar, washed it, and put it on her windowsill.
She wrote “TELESCOPE” on a label and stuck it on the front. Each Saturday, she walked the neighbour's dog and was paid five dollars. Each week, she dropped four dollars in the jar and kept one for herself.
After a month, Mei counted. She had sixteen dollars. She did the sums on a notepad, and her heart sank. At this speed, it would take her fifteen months. “That is more than a year,” she groaned.
That evening, Mei sat on her bed and wanted to give up. The jar looked tiny. The telescope felt as far away as Saturn itself. Her mother sat beside her and said, “What if the jar is not the only thing that is growing?”
Mei did not know what she meant. But the next week, she stopped counting every day. She started looking at the sky instead. With her bare eyes, she found the Moon and its craters, and she borrowed a library book to learn the stars by name.
She learned to find the Southern Cross, and she learned that the bright dot near the Moon was a planet, not a star. She drew a chart on cardboard and stuck it to her wall. She was learning the sky before she even owned a telescope.
Months passed. Mei washed cars, and she sold her old toys. The jar grew heavy. One night in spring, she tipped it out on the bed and counted slowly. Two hundred and forty dollars, to the cent.
On the day she bought the telescope, the shop assistant asked, “Do you know how to use one?” Mei smiled. “I have been practising for a year,” she said. She set it up in the garden that night and found Saturn in less than a minute.
The rings were there, thin and golden, just as she remembered. Mei looked for a long time. Then she put the empty jar back on the windowsill. She wondered what she might save for next.
✨ Key Takeaways
- Big goals can look impossible at the start. Small steady steps still get you there.
- Waiting and saving teach patience, and what you learn on the way can matter as much as the prize.
- Working out the sums at the start helps you plan, but do not let a long wait stop you from beginning.
💬 Questions for Discussion & Reflection
- How long did Mei think it would take, and what did she do to speed it up?
- What did Mei do with her time while she was saving?
- What would you like to save for, and how could you work out a plan?
Print a goal setting worksheet →