I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier.

For me, one of the most satisfying basic story lines is virtue rewarded.

I love all stories in which virtue is recognized and rewarded.

The Karma Police aren't always on duty and boy, it is satisfying when they are.

My daughter Eleanor feels the same way.

In years ago when she was a little girl, I happened to tell her this story and she loved

it so much that she used to beg me to tell and retell it to her as a bedtime story.

So this is the story.

It's the story of an acquaintance of mine who lives in Geneva and she told me this story

and when I asked her for it, she actually emailed her account of what happened.

And this is what she wrote.

I went into Herod's in London, a huge department store I am sure you have heard of, to buy

some mitten china plates for a wedding anniversary, which was to be a group gift from friends to

other friends in Geneva.

Having only 30 minutes between meetings, I was there in a taxi from the office and battled

through the milling people on the second day of the sales on the ground floor, up to the

fifth floor to the china department.

There was a chap standing there who was obviously a salesperson who I rushed up to and asked

if he had this particular kind of china, was it in stock, would it take long to wrap, etc.

He was amazing.

He got the plates in seconds, wrapped them up, asked me if I wanted a store card to which

I replied no because I live in Switzerland to which he replied asking if, as I lived abroad,

...