Saturdays at the Children's Zoo with their father always end the same way for Ariel, Miranda, and Jane: he offers them money for a treat, but they choose instead to buy food for the animals.
One Saturday, a mysterious balloon man gives them a small reward for their kindness—a blue balloon for Ariel, a red one for Miranda, and a yellow one for Jane.
Soon they find that their generosity and the balloon man's simple gift have brought them more magic than they could ever have imagined . . .
Julianna Margulies's father told this story to her and her sisters when they were young. She presents it now in his loving memory.