Roberto Remembers

“Roberto,” Mama called. “Time for dinner!” Roberto forgot all about the toy cars he was playing with and ran to the table. Papa and Carlos were already sitting in their places. Roberto could smell fideos, his favorite food. He climbed into his seat and reached for the steaming bowl of slippery noodles.

“Roberto, did you forget something?” Papa asked.

Roberto slid down and raced to the sink. He washed his hands and dried them quickly. Mama was just sitting down at the table when Roberto returned. He climbed up on the chair beside her and reached for the noodles again.

This time Mama stopped him. “Roberto, have you forgotten something?” Roberto looked around. Everyone’s arms were folded, and Carlos was bowing his head. Roberto folded his arms and bowed his head, too. Papa asked Carlos to pray.

Roberto heard Carlos thank Heavenly Father for the food, but then Roberto began to think about Mama’s yummy fideos and he didn’t listen to the rest of the prayer. As soon as Carlos said amen, Roberto grabbed the serving spoon. He piled the noodles on his plate until Mama took the spoon away.

“Eat that much,” she said. “Then if you’re still hungry, you can have more.”

When he finished all the noodles on his plate, Roberto wasn’t hungry at all. He couldn’t eat one more bite, not even when Mama brought out the flan she had made for dessert. He watched Carlos smile as he spooned the custard into his bowl. Roberto wished everyone would hurry and finish so he could go back to his toys.

At last Papa leaned back and smiled at Mama. “That was wonderful,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you, Mama,” Carlos said.

“May I be excused?” Roberto asked.

Roberto played until bedtime. Carlos helped him make buildings and houses out of blocks. They made tunnels to drive their toy cars under. They had almost finished making a city when Mama announced, “Bedtime.”

After Roberto and Carlos said their prayers, Papa told them a story. It was a story from the Bible about when Jesus Christ helped 10 men who were lepers. “Do you know what a leper is, Roberto?” Papa asked. Then he explained: “Lepers are people who are very sick—so sick that sometimes they have to go away and live by themselves. The Savior made the 10 lepers well again so they could go home and live with their families. But only one of the men remembered to say thank you.”

“Oh,” Roberto said. “Why?”

“I don’t know why they didn’t thank Jesus. What do you think, Carlos?” Papa asked.

Carlos thought for a moment. “I think they were so happy to go home they forgot all about it.”

Papa nodded. “And what do you think, Roberto?”

Roberto suddenly jumped out of his bed. “Just a minute,” he said. “I remembered something.” He ran downstairs.

Mama was putting away the dinner dishes. She was surprised to see Roberto. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

“I have to tell you something first. You made my favorite food for me, and I forgot to say thank you,” Roberto explained.

Mama smiled. “You’re welcome. I like to do things for you, especially when you remember to say thank you.”

Roberto ran back upstairs to his bedroom. Carlos was listening to Papa finish the story. “Thank you for playing with me today,” Roberto told Carlos. “And thank you, Papa, for telling me stories about Jesus.”

“You’re welcome,” Papa said and turned off the light. “Good night, Roberto. Good night, Carlos.”

But Roberto didn’t go right to sleep. He lay still and thought of the many things he was thankful for. He felt happy, and he wished he could give Heavenly Father a hug. At last he slipped out of bed and said another prayer. This time he really meant it when he thanked Heavenly Father for fideos, for Mama, Papa, and Carlos—and for helping him remember to say thank you.