Nell cleaned up the yard and planted tomatoes and marigolds. One afternoon as she was sweeping the walk to the alley she heard a commotion and went to investigate. A young girl no more than eight years old was cornered in the alley by a group of ruffian boys with bats and sticks intent on beating her up. Nell raised her broom and began swinging at the boys. "Get out of here!" she shouted. "Quit your messin' with that girl!" Shocked, the boys ran off. The little girl, who was really quite beautiful, cried with relief and thanked Nell over and over for saving her life. The next day came a knock at Nell's back door. It was the same little girl only today she was smiling. "I brought you a present," she said, "from my mother and sisters." She gave Nell a silver palm pilot and showed her how to work it. "Keep this with you wherever you go," she said. "It will keep track of everything for you. My mother says 'success begins with small steps and doing the things you need to do on time. As long as you use this, you'll never miss a deadline." Nell exclaimed, "This is just what I need!" The child smiled. "I'm from a family of angels," she said. "My mother always seems to know what people need." Nell frowned. "If they're angels, why didn't they come to help you?" she asked. The child smiled again. "God sent you, didn't he?" Nell said, "Well, thank you. I've decided to go to law school. I can use this."

Nell did very well in school. She kept up with her reading, never missed an assignment, and graduated with honors. Later, she went to law school, and passed the bar exam. Nell always filed her briefs on time and never missed a summons. She kept her palm pilot on her person, and it never failed her. It helped her remember all kinds of things like important dates and people's names and phone numbers, who they knew and who to call in certain situations. Sometimes, she was sorely challenged though. She had to learn to give speeches. Speeches were hell for Nell. But she knew she couldn't be a lawyer without public speaking.

Little by little, as Nell forced herself to get up and speak,...

In fact, people started asking her to give presentations. She had a following!
One man in particular always seemed to be in the audience. Nell gave a speech on government snooping, during which he stood up and clapped for her ideas. She gave a lecture on the situation of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Finally, she debated capital punishment against the state candidate for governor. He was running on a platform to reinstate the death penalty. It was an honor, but Nell was terrified! The candidate was polished and articulate. Nell concentrated on what she had to say rather than on herself and the ordeal. She argued persuasively and from her heart. Afterwards, people said she had won the debate!

The handsome man whom she had noticed gave his/her card. His name was Barry Prince -- an insurance agent. Nell liked him. She put his name and number in her palm pilot for future reference.

It was after this that Nell felt she was ready to go home. When she arrived, the village looked even poorer than when she left, but the air was pure and the countryside covered with wild flowers. Nell set up a modest office and began taking cases. Sometimes the people paid her with eggs and produce. Nell hadn't gone to law school to get rich but to help the folks in her village, so she accepted whatever they offered gratefully. People started to say, "Call Nell -- all will be well." It wasn't long before they were calling her "Nell-Well." One day Barry Prince's name came up in her palm pilot and she called him. She told him about the town's insurance problem. Prince said he could provide cheap insurance at a group rate. When he came to explain his plan, the whole town came out to meet him. Prince told them his father owned the largest insurance firm in the land. Within a year Nell-Well had the ball field back and prosperity had returned to her village. Nell-Well and Prince got married, and the whole town came to their wedding.