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Uriel Fox and the Church Raffle

John Zurn

    Uriel Fox’s perpetual wandering eventually led him to the village of Evergreen. This village existed in the far north, and now that the season of winter had just begun, snow piled up on the buildings and against the sidewalks. Uriel, exhausted from his travels and needing a place to stay, made arrangements with a minister named Reverend Smith to work at the church in exchange for room and board. This arrangement worked well for both Reverend Smith and Uriel because not only did they seem to get along with each other, but they also needed the assistance the other provided.
    One day shortly after Uriel had begun shoveling snow off the church steps; Referend Smith called Uriel to his office. Uriel, now well rested and wearing warm clothes, hurriedly trudged to the office to find out what the reverend wanted. “Uriel,” Reverend Smith began. “The church desperately needs money so we can help the disadvantaged members of our community. Do you have any ideas?”
    Uriel considered the reverend’s request for only a moment, and then enthusiastically replied, “Actually, I might have an idea. Why don’t we sponsor a raffle? If we can figure out some prize people in town might wager on, maybe we will sell a lot of tickets.”
    Reverend Smith agreed happily. “That sounds like a wonderful idea! However, a raffle would require a lot of effort and time.”
    Once again Uriel responded confidently. “I have the time to help, and I certainly enjoy working. You’ve been very good to me, Reverend Smith. I’d be glad to take charge of the whole thing.”
    A look of appreciation and relief appeared on Reverend Smith’s furrowed brow. “You’ll be great!” he replied thankfully.
    As Uriel watched the kindly old Reverend return to his office, he clearly understood the reverend needed his help. Aware of the need for urgency, Uriel immediately began considering possible lottery ideas until; at last, Uriel had created a strategy. He decided to raffle an object that anyone might desire, especially if the tickets were reasonably priced.
    Uriel ultimately began work on his holiday project. He gathered volunteers to help him produce and sell raffle tickets, and he also posted flyers around town: “Snowmobile raffle tickets on sale for 10 dollars each at Truhart’s Bakery.” It wasn’t long before excited villagers were lining up to buy the snowmobile sweepstakes tickets.
    Uriel Fox, being an experienced traveler, knew the security of the raffle box in the hands of the Truhart’s might become an issue. Nevertheless, he just let the situation unfold. Finally, it became obvious, however, that Uriel needed to take charge of the security of the lottery box because Mr. and Mrs. Truhart couldn’t be trusted. He felt certain they desperately needed cash for store repairs, so they might be tempted to engage in some sort of criminal scheme. Soon after making this assumption, Uriel decided to monitor the raffle box that resided in the Truhart’s bakery window.
    Just as Uriel suspected, the Truharts had been developing a plan regarding the raffle that appeared to be simple and effective. At the end of each business day, they locked the front door and carried the raffle box to the back of the store. There, they removed all of the coupons and replaced them with unpaid tickets of their own. Finally, they returned a few of their neighbors’ tickets while carefully hiding the rest. This ingenious plan allowed the Truharts to appear to be honest citizens while also procuring a snowmobile.
    Uriel soon apprehended the basic idea of the Truhart’s scheme, and he began to create his own plan. Without informing the reverend or the rest of Evergreen, Uriel discreetly placed an increasing number of raffle tickets into the box each day. He also consistently wrote the Truhart’s name on each one. Uriel’s intention was to coax the baker and his wife into giving up their scam. In this way, they could perhaps save themselves and their integrity.
    This sudden increase of tickets written in the Truhart’s name initially surprised and frightened the baker and his wife. Nevertheless, after careful reflection, they really couldn’t understand why the tickets appeared and who placed them in the selection box. They also couldn’t figure out where the money came from. Since technically they hadn’t stolen any money, only the tickets, they felt uneasy. In the end, they decided to add extra money to the drawing box for every mysterious entry. And they both hoped that nobody would notice.
    This plan worked for a while, until Uriel secretly added forty new tickets to the selection box in one day. The Truharts soon realized that the situation was getting worse. They decided to return all the tickets they had hidden, and then they matched the cash with the new tickets with their name on them. In this way, if anyone decided to audit the raffle box closely, no irregularities would be discovered.
    At almost the same time, Uriel ended his own interference and within a week the big snowmobile raffle took place. Reverend Smith spoke just before the drawing. “People of Evergreen, I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for your generosity. Because of you, many families will certainly have a much better holiday season. By contributing in this raffle, you have answered my prayers.”
    Then Reverend Smith graciously took the raffle box from the Truharts. He and his wife both felt certain they would “win” the snowmobile, but they outwardly appeared to be uninterested. Yet clearly, they remembered all their extra tickets in the box.
    After grabbing the raffle box, the reverend took a deep breath and pushed his hand into the slot on the top. Not surprisingly, he announced that the Truhart family was the winner. Instantly, the couple pushed past their neighbors and dashed up to the front. Feigning surprise, they stood directly in front of their church leader and Uriel.
    “This is so unexpected,” Mrs. Truhart cried out sounding sincere. “I’m so glad we’re able to help out with this important charity work. But, my goodness, what an unexpected blessing! Mr. Truhart and I never expected to win!”
    Of course, anyone who knows Uriel Fox understands that with him nothing is as it seems. He offered to get the coveted snowmobile himself. “Everyone wait here while I pick up the raffle award. I promise I’ll hurry!” he mischievously chanted.
    Uriel immediately disappeared, but it wasn’t long before the citizens of Evergreen began to doubt the legitimacy of the drawing. Knowing the raffle box and the winners both originated at the Truhart’s shop, they were all skeptical and soon became loud and defiant. Accusing the couple of stealing, the entire group soon appeared to be on the verge of retaliation.
    When Uriel approached the townspeople, he didn’t arrive with the snowmobile; instead he carried a small cigar box with the words “snowmobile raffle” written on the side. The crowd then immediately stopped arguing and studied the mysterious cigar box. They came to the conclusion that a key or a title for the snowmobile was no doubt hidden inside. This possibility intrigued everyone, especially the Truharts.
    “Mr. and Mrs. Truhart,” Uriel cried out majestically. “Please take possession of your new your snowmobile.”
    The trap had now been set, and it was about to be sprung. The couple turned to face Uriel and then Mr. Truhart snatched the cigar box. Mrs. Truhart then spoke just before her husband could open it. “My husband and I are truly overwhelmed by this unexpected gift,” she began attempting to sound modest. “We’re very happy we could participate in this wonderful drawing. This raffle has made the entire community feel like a better place. God bless you all!”
    Mr. Truhart finally opened the box, but he found no key and no title. Instead, a small mobile similar to a baby’s crib decoration appeared. The mobile also seemed to have big plastic snowflakes attached to the frame giving it the appearance of a hanging snow mobile. It took only an instant for the couple to realize the trick. “Fraud!” accused Mr. Truhart. “You swindled us!”
    The rest of the crowd seemed very amused, however. Since they didn’t win, and they believed the Truharts had cheated, they felt the ruse to be justified. Nevertheless, the Truharts still felt the need to be exceedingly cautious. If anyone decided to search for the truth about the raffle scheme, the entire village might insist on prosecution. In addition, since Uriel Fox had taken control of the raffle box, he might inform the villagers about the Truhart’s crime. In response, the entire town might boycott the bakery. So, instead of pressing their point, the Truharts suddenly began to laugh along with everyone else. In the end, the entire town erupted into a mass of roaring contagious laughter.
    Before long, the villagers had returned to their homes; however, Reverend Smith stared angrily at Uriel when the trickster ventured back to the church. “You deceived me and the entire village!” he scolded. “Money that is collected immorally cannot be of use to the church. Please, go back to wherever you came from Uriel Fox and never come back!”
    When Uriel returned to the highway, he realized that Reverend Smith was at least partially correct. Nonetheless, Uriel also believed that he had made several important points of his own. The reverend certainly wouldn’t waste the money from the drawing. The raffle itself happened to be for a very worthy cause. Second, the Truharts had been given a powerful lesson while also escaping prosecution.
    Several hours later, Uriel burned up the remaining raffle tickets and the box. While he sat by the side of the road watching the flames, he remembered, yet again, that nowhere appeared to be his home because his destination was everywhere.

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