A child’s simple gift taught Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul a heartwarming message about the meaning of Thanksgiving, he said during the Nov. 21 City Council meeting.

The mayor recounted his Nov. 17 visit to Heards Ferry Elementary School to lead a class in beekeeping, one of his hobbies. As he left, he said, “a mother chased me down and gave me a little pebble [one of the girls in the class] had picked up off the ground.”

The girl wanted to thank Paul for the lesson, and the pebble was the only item she had to serve as a token of gratitude.

“I learned more from that girl than she learned from me,” Paul said. “That pebble will sit on my desk from now on to remind me Thanksgiving is one day, but thanks-givings are eternal.”