In a small town in Mississippi, there lived a family with a mother, and seven daughters. The oldest was Caroline, and the youngest was Emma. Caroline and her sisters were all beautiful, and courageous, but lacked in intelligence. However, although young Emma was less attractive and suffered from a heart condition, she was the brightest of them all.

The family was extremely poor. The father had died in a construction accident so the only income they had was from the mother’s job at the convenience store on the corner. One day the mother sat all her daughters around their small kitchen table.

“Although I love you all very much, I have no more money to support you. You all need to leave home and make some money for yourselves. When you eventually get enough, you can return home,” said the mother.

“But where are we going to go?” asked one daughter

“But what are we going to eat?” asked another

“You will go where ever you want to go. I will give you all the money I have left for gas, and some food while you travel.”

Three days later all the daughters piled into the truck and will a cooler full of sandwiches, cookies, and pop, and a small wad of cash, the girls left home and set out to make their fortunes.

A few days into their journey, while Emma was sleeping in the backseat, the older girls began talking.

“We can’t afford to pay for Emma’s medications now that we’re on our own.”

“Yeah, she won’t even be able to get a job like the rest of us either. She is dumb, and won’t talk to anyone.”

Then the oldest daughter said, “Although she's our sister, she's too weak to join us, and we can’t be spending all of our money to take care of her. We'll leave her at the next gas station... hopefully someone will take her in.”

A few hours later they stopped at a gas station. Emma went inside to go to the bathroom and get a drink. Moments later, she returned and to her horror, her sisters had left. She panicked and thought they had probably forgotten but will come back soon. The sky quickly got darker and darker, with no sign of the girls. Emma sat on a bench and cried into her lap. Shortly thereafter, a large truck pulled up and a burly man poked his head out.

“Where are you going?” he called out. Too afraid, Emma didn’t reply.

The man asked again, this time louder, “Where are you going?!”

“Anywhere,” she finally replied.

“Well ,do you need a ride?” the man asked

Hesitant, but realizing she was stranded, Emma hopped up into the passenger seat.

After driving for a while they had been talking, she wasn’t afraid of him, so she fell asleep. While she was sleeping the big, burly man transformed into a magician. Emma woke up so surprised she thought she was still dreaming.

“You’re awake... what you see is true. While you were sleeping I cast a spell on you and healed your heart. You won’t need any medications ever again. Thrilled and very grateful, Emma thanked him again and again.

“I know you're appreciative, but I will also grant you two more wishes.”

Emma thought for awhile. “How about a wallet that fills up with money whenever I ask for it?”

“Done!” Then in her hand, Emma held a magic wallet.

“What else?” asked the Magician

“Could you give me a flashlight that makes people disappear and destroys them?”

“Done!” Emma instantly held a flashlight.

After the magician dropped her off at the next stop, Emma set out on her own to make a life for herself.

Time quickly passed and it wasn’t before long that she had forgotten all about her sisters who left her and the life of poverty she once had. She bought herself a house and lived well without even having a job. She wasn’t greedy, however; she took only what she felt she needed and gave money to others who weren’t as fortunate.

One day while she was out around town, an attractive young man approached her making it clear that he was interested in her. Emma, not used to being approached by men, agreed to eat with him at a local café. However, she soon discovered that the man had no job. He was a thief who had heard about Emma’s magic wallet. The only money he had was stolen.

After Emma realized this man was only after her money, she pointed her flashlight at him, and made him disappear.