NO CHARGE Melba Montgomery Writer: HARLAN HOWARD Recitation: My little boy came into the kitchen this evenin' While I was fixin' supper And he handed me a piece of paper he'd been writin' on And after wipin' my hands on my apron I read it - and this is what it said: For mowin' the yard - five dollars And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar And for goin' to the store - fifty cents An' playin' with little brother, while you went shoppin' - twenty-five cents Takin' out the trash - one dollar Gettin' a good report card - five dollars And for rakin' the yard - two dollars Total owed - fourteen seventy-five. Well, I looked at 'im standin' there expectantly And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over, This is what I wrote: For nine months I carried you Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE For the nights I've sat up with you, Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE For the time and the tears. And the cost through the years, there's NO CHARG