Unit 1 - 11

Lesson 1
True Love
By Barry and Joyce Vissell
Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known
German composer, was far from being handsome. Along with a rather
short stature, he had a grotesque hunchback.
One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely
daughter named Frumtje. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But
Frumtje was repulsed by his misshapen appearance. When it came
time for him to leave, Moses gathered his courage and climbed the
stairs to her room to take one last opportunity to speak with her. She
was a vision of heavenly beauty, but caused him deep sadness by her
refusal to look at him.
After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked,
"Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?" "Yes," she
answered, still looking at the floor. "And do you?" "Yes I do," he
replied. "You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord
announces which girl he will marry.
When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me.
Then the Lord added, 'But your wife will be humpbacked.' "Right
then and there I called out, 'Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be
a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'"
Then Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some
deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and
later became his devoted wife.
Academic Writing: Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay

VOA – Education Report
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Millions of students have been taught a formula that has
nothing to do with chemistry or mathematics. The formula is for how
to write a five-paragraph essay. First, write an introductory paragraph
to state the argument. Then, add three paragraphs of evidence.
Finally, write a conclusion.
Linda Bergmann is director of the Writing Lab at Purdue
University in Indiana. Her job is to help students, including
international students, improve their writing. Professor Bergmann has
worked with many students who learned this traditional five-
paragraph formula. She says international students sometimes have
difficulty with this formula if they learned a different writing
structure. But just knowing how to write a five-paragraph essay is not
going to be enough for a college student who has to write a longer
academic paper.
As Professor Bergmann points out, the formula is too simple
to deal with subjects that require deeper thought and investigation. In
her words, "Essentially, it is way too simplistic to handle more
intellectually sophisticated topics which involve actual inquiry."
Karen Gocsik is executive director of courses in the Institute for
Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The
institute has an extensive library of online writing materials on its
website.
So what are the qualities that make up good writing? Ms.
Gocsik says there are no simple answers -- except maybe for one.
That is, there is no formula that students can follow to guarantee a
well-written paper. She says, "What we try to teach students to do in
college is to listen to their ideas, and that the idea should be able to
tell you what form it needs to take." She says moving from
secondary-school writing to college-level writing can be difficult, but
students should not be afraid. American college students are usually
expected to state their thesis at the beginning of a paper.
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In some cultures, students organize their paragraphs to build
toward the main idea at the end. And, while students in some cultures
use lots of descriptive words, American professors generally want
shorter sentences.
For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal. Tell us about
your own experience with academic writing. Go to
voaspecialenglish.com and share your stories. And before you write
that next paper, check out two links on our website. One is for the
Online Writing Lab at Purdue. The other is for the Institute for
Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth.
Motion Sickness Device

VOA – Technology report
Some people get motion sickness from being in moving
vehicles such as cars or airplanes. But, a new device could stop
motion sickness by suppressing some signals in the brain. Motion
sickness happens when the motion you sense with your inner ear is
different from the motion you see.
Symptoms of motion sickness are dizziness, nausea and
vomiting. People have tried different ways to prevent the condition,
including wrist bands and anti-nausea drugs. But often, nothing
works. Now, scientists at Imperial College London are working on a
device to counteract motion sickness.
Michael Gresty is an expert on the condition. He says riding in
a car or a ship can make it difficult for some people to know what is
upright and how to best deal with it. The device sends a weak
electrical current through electrodes placed on a person’s head.
The electric current appears to cause the brain to suppress
signals that affect the inner ear. Researcher Qadeer Arshad says the
scientists found “that it took longer for the individual to develop
motion sickness and that they also recovered faster."
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The next step is to test the device outside the laboratory.
Michael Gresty says there are no reports of unwanted side effects
from the small amounts of electricity released by the device. The
researchers hope a device that plugs into a smart phone and attaches
to the head will be available within 10 years.
Lesson 2
On the Way to the Sun
W. K. CLIFFORD
He had journeyed a long way, and was very tired. It seemed
like a dream when he stood up after a sleep in the field, and looked
over the wall, and saw the garden, and the flowers, and the children
playing all about. He looked at the long road behind him, at the dark
wood and the barren hills; it was the world to which he belonged. He
looked at the garden before him, at the big house, and the terrace, and
the steps that led down to the smooth lawn—it was the world which
belonged to the children.
"Poor boy," said the elder child, "I will get you something to eat."
"But where did he come from?" the gardener asked.
"We do not know," the child answered; "but he is very hungry, and
mother says we may give him some food."
"I will take him some milk," said the little one; in one hand she
carried a mug and with the other she pulled along her little broken
cart.
"But what is he called?" asked the gardener.
"We do not know," the little one answered; "but he is very thirsty, and
mother says we may give him some milk."
"Where is he going?" asked the gardener.

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"We do not know," the children said; "but he is very tired."
When the boy had rested well, he got up saying, "I must not stay any
longer," and turned to go on his way.
"What have you to do?" the children asked.
"I am one of the crew, and must help to make the world go round," he
answered.
"Why do we not help too?"
"You are the passengers."
"How far have you to go?" they asked.
"Oh, a long way!" he answered. "On and on until I can touch the sun."
"Will you really touch it?" they said, awestruck.
"I dare say I shall tire long before I get there," he answered sadly.
"Perhaps without knowing it, though, I shall reach it in my sleep," he
added. But they hardly heard the last words, for he was already far
off.
"Why did you talk to him?" the gardener said. "He is just a working
boy."
"And we do nothing! It was very good of him to notice us," they said,
humbly.
"Good!" said the gardener in despair. "Why, between you and him
there is a great difference."
"There was only a wall," they answered. "Who set it up?" they asked
curiously.
"Why, the builders, of course. Men set it up."

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"And who will pull it down?"
"It will not want any pulling down," the man answered grimly. "Time
will do that."
As the children went back to their play, they looked up at the light
towards which the boy was journeying.
"Perhaps we too shall reach it someday," they said.
Achievement Gap
The United States Department of Education says

White and Asian students continue to do better on tests than black and
Latino students. The department’s 2015 Nation’s Report Card shows
a long-lasting education gap between racial groups in the United
States.
Marcelo Suarez-Orozco is an education professor at the
University of California in Los Angeles. He says that Latino and
black students face financial difficulties and other challenges that can
prevent them from succeeding in their studies. He says students from
lower-income families in the U.S. are more likely to miss class
because of health problems, such as asthma and tooth decay. Suarez-
Orozco says one reason for the education gap is low attendance rates
in primary and secondary schools.
Transportation problems and difficult home environments are
other factors. As students miss more classes, they become less likely
to score well on tests and graduate from high school. Ken O’Donnell
is California State University’s Senior Director of Student
Engagement. He says poverty, language, legal status and race are all
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factors that add to an achievement gap that continues into college. He
says the achievement gap can have serious effects.
Students who are not prepared for college are more likely to
leave school. Or they might take longer to graduate. This means that
they may never receive the benefits of a college degree.
Self-Driving Cars Hitting the Road

Automobile technology is expected to change in important
ways in the next ten years. One of the biggest changes could be that
cars will drive themselves. Someday, you may tell a car where you
want to go and it will drive you.
Andrew Poliak of automotive technology supplier QNX says
the technology exists now. He expects self-driving cars to be common
by 2025. The American Technology company Google has been
working on a self-driving automobile for years. These cars are being
tested on the roads in the United States, mainly in California.
Google cars are truly self-driving. These cars have no steering
wheels or pedals. Recently, police ordered one of Google’s cars to
stop for driving too slowly on a public road. The car was not violating
any law, so no one was punished. But police did speak with the
operators of the vehicle.
According to Google, its self-driving cars have been driven
nearly 2 million kilometers. That is equal to the distance the average
person drives in 90 years. So far, no Google self-driving car has
gotten a traffic ticket. Some of them have been in accidents when
other cars hit them.
According to the Auto Insurance Center, 81 percent of car
crashes result from human error. Many lives could be saved if cars
drove more safely without human drivers. They also say the full
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development of self-driving cars raises a lot of questions and concerns
for motorists. And it is unclear if motorists will fully accept the
technology.
Lesson 3
Cambodia Education Program
A group of 50 Cambodian schoolchildren are trying an
experimental education program. The program has two goals. One is
to develop young people who can improve the country. The other is to
develop a model program for other countries.
In 2012, the Liger Learning Center staff met with hundreds of
children across Cambodia. The staff sought the most promising
students. It chose 25 boys and 25 girls. The Liger Learning Center
paid for all of the students’ education and living costs. Cambodia has
a weak public education system. Children of low-earning families
have little chance of receiving a quality education. Most of Liger’s 50
students are from such families.
Next year, the program wants to add 50 more students. Over
time, Liger wants to change education for the whole country. U.S.
businessman Trevor Gile started the school with his wife. He said the
goal of the school is to help people help themselves, instead of just
giving them money. That means that those who attend the school have
to give something back.
Mr. Gile’s wealth means that Liger is ahead of other
Cambodian schools. For example, each Liger student has a laptop.
The school also uses modern teaching methods. Students often take
class trips and do group projects. Mr. Gile says he is sure Liger will
show the results it promises. Then, he says, other individuals and
organizations will want to expand the idea. Trevor Gile expects that
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by 2025 there will be at least 10 Liger schools in the region and
beyond.
Love: The One Creative Force

Eric Butterworth
“Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own
house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next
door neighbor. . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better
and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in
your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in
your warm greeting.” Mother Teresa
A college professor had his sociology class go into the
Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were
asked to write an evaluation of each boy's future. In every case the
students wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."
Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came
across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project
to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20
boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of
the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as
lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter
further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to
ask each one, "How do you account for your success?"
In each case the reply came with feeling, 'There was a
teacher." The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked
the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull
these boys out of the slums into successful achievement.
The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle
smile. "It's really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys."
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Computer Time Academics
A recent study warns that too much time spent playing
computer games could hurt performance in school. The National
Children’s Bureau reported the results of the study. It says that too
many hours of computer use can decrease student success in school.
The National Children’s Bureau is a private organization that explores
issues affecting children and young people in Britain.
Recently, the Northern Ireland office reported the results of a
study called ICT and Me. The study involved more than 600
teenagers between the ages of 14 and 16. It took place over a period
of two years, from 2012 to 2014.
It found that teenagers who played computer games less than
once a week were more successful in school than those who played
them twice a day or more. 41 percent of the students who used
gaming devices two or more times a day received passing grades in
school exams. That compared with 77 percent of those who rarely
played the games. The study found that social media use did not affect
school performance.
Many parents say their children are becoming increasingly
dependent on computer games. Some have compared excessive
gaming to drug addiction. The study did not explore addiction. But it
did suggest that computer games can cause children to stay awake late
at night. A lack of sleep makes children tired. Tired children are more
likely to have trouble paying attention in school.
Lesson 4
Medical Students
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Doctors who practice in international organizations must learn
to use English to communicate with patients and co-workers. At the
Enrique Cabrera Medical School in Havana, Cuba, the English
program helps medical students to do this.
The students first learn how to ask a patient about his or her
problem. They learn “Where does it hurt,” and “how can I help you?”
Future doctors also learn to use the command form of English verbs,
like “sit down,” or “hold out your arm.” As their education continues,
they learn the English grammar structure of “reported speech.” That is
how we tell others what someone else said. When doctors write a
report or talk with others, they use this structure. An example is, “The
patient said she has had two children,” or “He said he had a high
temperature for three days.”
Talking with patients is more difficult when the patient is a
child or does not speak the same language as the doctor. The medical
students learn that pictures can help. The patient can point to a picture
that explains an injury.
In addition to learning from real-life experience, students at
Enrique Cabrera Medical School read and listen to articles in English.
For example, the head of the English Department said he taught about
the liver disease hepatitis using a Voice of America story. He also
said that he hopes more scholarships and education in the U.S. will
become available to his students as Cuban-U.S. relations grow. After
all, Cuba and the United States are neighbors – only 144 kilometers
apart.
The Frog Prince

Brothers Grimm
One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and
clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she
came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat
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herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand,
which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up
into the air, and catching it again as it fell.
After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it

fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until
at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the spring
after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the
bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my
ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything
that I have in the world.'
Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said,
'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'
'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden
ball has fallen into the spring.'
The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes;
but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your
golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'
'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He
can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be
able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have
what he asks.'
So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do
all you ask.'
Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and
after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and
threw it on the edge of the spring.
As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and
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she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never
thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.
The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you
said,'
But she did not stop to hear a word.
The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a
strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up
the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at
the door, and a little voice cried out and said:
'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'
Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the
frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly
frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her
seat.
The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked
her what the matter was.
'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door that lifted my ball for me
out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me
here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is
at the door, and he wants to come in.'
While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

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Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your
word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'
She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on -
tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he
came up close to the table where the princess sat.
'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to
you.'
As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to
me, that I may eat out of it.'
This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said,
'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the
princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him
upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long.
As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped downstairs, and
went out of the house.
'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be
troubled with him no more.'
But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same
tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept
upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night
he did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following
morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome
prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen
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and standing at the head of her bed.
He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had
changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till
some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from
her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights.
'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have
nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's
kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'
The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to
all this; and as they spoke a brightly coloured coach drove up, with
eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden
harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful
Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during
his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh
burst.
They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight
horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's
kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a
great many years.
Allergy Fighting Material

Many people around the world suffer from dust-related
allergies. People with allergies have trouble breathing or suffer from
tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. Some allergies result
from very small animals called dust mites. Dust mites live in bedding.
Now, scientists in Poland say they have successfully tested
cloth that blocks the microscopic animals. Most of us share our beds
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with thousands of dust mites. Each mite is just one-third of a
millimeter wide. Along with dust around the home, we breathe in
waste from these creatures. The waste contains enzymes called
proteases. They produce chemical reactions in the body which can
lead to breathlessness, coughing or severe asthma attacks.
Dust mites are hard to remove because they can easily pass
through small openings in bedding. But that is not the case with the
new material developed at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland.
Air can pass through the material but dust mites cannot. People who
tested the cloth say their allergic symptoms were greatly reduced.
They say they can finally sleep normally.
Researchers say repeated washings did not reduce the anti-
allergic quality of the new fabric. More testing must be done before
the material will be ready for market. Until then, people who suffer
from dust allergies are advised to keep their homes dry, clean their
floors often and wash their bed sheets in hot water.
Lesson 5
Teen Coder
What does the average 15-year-old do with her free time?
Most teenagers are hanging out with friends, talking on their smart
phones or playing games on their computer. But Swetha Prabakaran is
different. She enjoys spending her time making the use of technology
easier for all. It’s called coding. So exactly what is that? Swetha says
it is “telling a computer to do something,” in a language the computer
will recognize. The 15-year-old loves to code.
Swetha is a student at a top-rated public science and
technology school in Virginia. She learned to love the computer field
during her first computer science course there. She is also the founder
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of Everybody Code Now! The non-profit works to empower the next
generation of youth to become engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs.
Everybody Code Now operates in 12 U.S. states. Soon, it will
be partnering with schools in India and Ghana. The group works with
students to bring starter computer science lessons and other
technology information to students through their schools. In
September of this year, Swetha was honored at the White House as
one of 11 young women named “champions of change.” She was one
of two 15-year-olds to receive the award.
Swetha is now working on an app which will help other non-
profit organizations in outreach efforts. Swetha says she finds
teaching others to code satisfying. She says she will continue to
encourage other girls to give coding a try and see the power coding
gives you right at your fingertips.
Heart Song
Patty Hansen
Once upon a time there was a great man who married the
woman of his dreams. With their love, they created a little girl. She
was a bright and cheerful little girl and the great man loved her very
much.
When she was very little, he would pick her up, hum a tune
and dance with her around the room, and he would tell her, "I love
you, little girl."
When the little girl was growing up, the great man would hug
her and tell her, "I love you, little girl." The little girl would pout and
say, "I'm not a little girl anymore." Then the man would laugh and
say, "But to me, you'll always be my little girl."
The little girl who-was-not-little-anymore left her home and
went into the world. As she learned more about herself, she learned
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more about the man. She saw that he truly was great and strong, for
now she recognized his strengths.
One of his strengths was his ability to express his love to his
family. It didn't matter where she went in the world, the man would
call her and say, "I love you, little girl."
The day came when the little girl who-was-not-little-anymore
received a phone call. The great man was damaged. He had had a
stroke. He was aphasic, they explained to the girl. He couldn't talk
anymore and they weren't sure that he could understand the words
spoken to him. He could no longer smile, laugh, walk, hug, dance or
tell the little girl who-was-not-little-anymore that he loved her. And
so she went to the side of the great man.
When she walked into the room and saw him, he looked small
and not strong at all. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could
not. The little girl did the only thing she could do. She climbed up on
the bed next to the great man.
Tears ran from both of their eyes and she drew her arms
around the useless shoulders of her father. Her head on his chest, she
thought of many things. She remembered the wonderful times
together and how she had always felt protected and cherished by the
great man. She felt grief for the loss she was to endure, the words of
love that had comforted her.
And then she heard from within the man, the beat of his heart.
The heart where the music and the words had always lived. The heart
beat on, steadily unconcerned about the damage to the rest of the
body.
And while she rested there, the magic happened. She heard
what she needed to hear. His heart beat out the words that his mouth
could no longer say.... I love you, I love you, I love you little girl,
little girl little girl. And she was comforted.
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Cameroon Schools
The Cameroonian government says that terrorism threatens
large numbers of schoolchildren there. Two bomb attacks killed nine
people last month in the town of Kolofata, near the border with
Nigeria. At the same time, millions of children returned to school
after a three-month holiday.
Cameroon has been working to make its schools safer. One of
the most dangerous areas is along the border with Nigeria. Many
families want to leave these areas. Sixteen-year-old Ahmidou Moussa
was not able to return to school on time because of the threat of
suicide bombings. His school is in the town of Mora.
Valentine Tameh is president of the Teachers Association of
Cameroon. He says many teachers are refusing to teach in areas along
the border with Nigeria. He says he has told teachers to continue to
work, even in the border area. But he says, they are also telling the
government that it has a moral duty to take care of those teachers.
A police spokesperson says he has talked with students,
teachers and parents about keeping young schoolchildren safe. He
says if the population works with officials, terrorists will find it more
difficult to carry out attacks.
Dualla is the economic capital of Cameroon. There, school
staff members search students and their bags with metal detectors
before they enter the school. Last year, Cameroon closed 70 schools
on its border with Nigeria. More than 100,000 students were relocated
to new schools.
Lesson 6
Never Say Never
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Rosa Torcasio
I cannot remember a point in my life when I desired anything
other than becoming a teacher. As a child, I played school with my
little cousins and friends just so I could practice for my future career.
But what I didn't realize as a child was how expensive my dream was.
I came from a middle-class family, and it seemed as though
we’d always struggled to make ends meet. My dream of attending the
University of Connecticut seemed so out of reach but I wasn't willing
to settle for anything less.
In the beginning of my senior year in high school, I began
applying to colleges, but in my heart I had already made my decision.
The University of Connecticut was the one. But a huge hurdle stood
between me and my dream -- lack of financial resources.
At first, I was ready to give up. I mean, who was going to give
me, the average high-school girl, that kind of money? I wasn't the
smartest person in my class, not even close; but my heart was in the
right place, and I was determined. I knew that scholarships were only
given to the really smart kids, or so I thought.
I applied for every scholarship I could get my hands on. What
did I have to lose? And then my guidance counselor told me about the
financial aid system. I applied, but I didn't think I would qualify for
that either.
After the holidays, my friends started receiving their
acceptance letters from colleges, and I eagerly anticipated mine.
Finally, a letter arrived from the University of Connecticut. Feelings
of fear and joy overwhelmed me, but I was ready.
I opened the envelope with trembling hands as tears engulfed
my eyes. I had done it! I had been accepted to the University of
Connecticut! I cried for a while, feeling both extremely excited and
afraid. I had worked so hard to get accepted; what if I was denied
admission because of my financial status? I had been working a full-
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time job, but that was barely enough to pay for tuition. My parents
couldn't afford that kind of money, and I wasn't going to pretend that
they could.
I was the first person in my family who would attend a
university, and I knew how proud my parents were; but it was
impossible for them to finance my education. However, my parents
are incredible people, and they taught me never to give up on my
dreams, regardless of the obstacles that I encounter, and never to lose
sight of what I truly want out of life.
My parents were right, and I continued to believe in both
myself and my dreams. Months went by before I heard anything from
the financial aid office. I assumed that I didn't qualify for aid, but I
wasn't ready to lose hope yet. At last, a letter arrived.
I opened it eagerly, but it was a false alarm. The letter
requested more information in order to process my application. This
happened over and over, and my hopes kept getting shot down.
Finally, a bulky envelope arrived. I knew this was the one that
would determine whether or not I could attend college. I opened the
envelope and could hardly understand what any of the documents
inside meant.
The following day, I brought the documents to school and
asked my guidance counselor to take a look at them. He looked up at
me with a huge smile on his face and told me that not only was
financial aid going to help me out with my expenses, but I had also
won two of the scholarships I had applied for!
I was in shock at first, then I cried. I had actually made my
dream come true. I am now a junior at the University of Connecticut,
pursuing a degree in English. In the beginning of the new millennium,
my dream will become a reality. I will be a teacher. I live by this
quote: "Reach for the sky because if you should happen to miss, you'll
still be among the stars."
21
Germany Self-Driving Truck
Recently, the first self-driving semi-trailer truck began its first
trip on a major European highway. The German automobile company
Daimler made the vehicle named Actros. It may be the first mass-
produced truck whose driver will only be required to watch the
vehicle’s movements. The driver will have duties similar to those of
an airline pilot while a plane flies in autopilot mode.
The new 430-horsepower truck began its test drive near the
German city of Stuttgart. The truck was loaded with 40 tons of cargo.
Wolfgang Bernhard, the head of Daimler’s trucks and buses division,
drove the Actros. Once on the road, he let the truck take control of
steering, so that it could move around other vehicles. The Actros
reached a speed of 80 kilometers an hour while driving down the busy
road. The vehicle was followed by a car equipped with cameras.
Also following was a police car, in case of an emergency. The
driver of the Actros must follow strict rules. A driver is not permitted
to turn around or to the side. Traffic must be monitored constantly.
Radar, a number of video cameras and sensing devices continually
watch other vehicles and road conditions. The truck will ask the
driver to take control of the vehicle in dangerous situations. If the
driver does not, the truck will slow to a stop by itself.
Daimler says its trucks will help drivers on long road trips and
in stop-and-go traffic conditions. The company hopes governments
will pass necessary laws to permit the use of its self-driving trucks by
2020.
Meet Betty Azar

In 1965, Betty Azar was teaching her first English as a
Second Language class at the University of Iowa. A student from the
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Middle East asked Ms. Azar, “Why can’t I put “a” in front of water?’
As in ‘I drank a water.’” Ms. Azar did not know the answer, but she
found it. That was the start of her grammar teaching career.
After 50 years and sales of 10 million books, Betty Azar has
become a legend in the world of TESOL, or Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages. Some call her “The Mick Jagger of
grammar,” comparing her to the lead singer of the rock band, The
Rolling Stones. Generations of English teachers and learners have
come to love her classic book, Understanding and Using English
Grammar.
The blue grammar guide can be found in language schools
throughout the world. No American has sold more grammar books
than Ms. Azar. She started her career teaching writing to college
students. Her boss asked her to teach an English class for foreign
students. She knew nothing about TESOL, but she taught her first
course the same day. TESOL was just beginning as an academic field
in the 1960s.
There were few study materials available. She started writing
for her classes and that became the basis of a book. A publisher asked
her to write a book. “Understanding and Using English Grammar,”
was first published in 1981. It was a major success. What is her
advice to English Learners? Ms. Azar says, “Don’t be afraid of
making mistakes.”
Lesson 7
Afghan Refugee Wins UN Teaching Award
Aqeela Asifi, who fled to Pakistan as a young woman, has
spent her life teaching other Afghan refugees. Now, at 49, she has
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won the 2015 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award. Ms. Asifi faced many
problems in Afghanistan before she fled to Pakistan.
Resources were limited and education for women was
discouraged. However, in Pakistan, the 49-year-old was able to bring
change to her conservative Afghan community. She persuaded parents
to send their daughters to school in a tent at the Kot Chandana refugee
village.
Since then, Ms. Asifi has guided more than a thousand refugee
girls through their primary education. She told VOA that she could
not imagine that she would one day win this award. There are almost
1.5 million recorded Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the United Nation
High Commissioner for Refugees says. Nearly half are school-aged
children. But most do not attend school.
Ms. Asifi was a teacher in Kabul when she fled with her
family in 1992. At first, she taught in her tent. Her tent school has led
to the opening of several permanent schools in the village. UNHCR’s
Nansen Refugee Award honors extraordinary service to people who
have been forced from their homes.
The 2015 award ceremony will be held on October 5 in
Geneva. The award will provide Ms. Asifi with $100,000 to help pay
for her education projects. Ms. Asifi is a mother of six children. The
Afghan teacher hopes her home country becomes better known for a
higher levels of education, instead of war.
A Father's Confession
by Guy de Maupassant
All Veziers-le-Rethel had followed the funeral procession of M.

Badon- Leremince to the grave, and the last words of the funeral
oration pronounced by the delegate of the district remained in the
minds of all: "He was an honest man, at least!"
24
An honest man he had been in all the known acts of his life, in his
words, in his examples, his attitude, his behavior, his enterprises, in
the cut of his beard and the shape of his hats. He never had said a
word that did not set an example, never had given an alms without
adding a word of advice, never had extended his hand without
appearing to bestow a benediction.
He left two children, a boy and a girl. His son was counselor general,
and his daughter, having married a lawyer, M. Poirel de la Voulte,
moved in the best society of Veziers.
They were inconsolable at the death of their father, for they loved him
sincerely.
As soon as the ceremony was over, the son, daughter and son-in-law
returned to the house of mourning, and, shutting themselves in the
library, they opened the will, the seals of which were to be broken by
them alone and only after the coffin had been placed in the ground.
This wish was expressed by a notice on the envelope.
M. Poirel de la Voulte tore open the envelope, in his character of a
lawyer used to such operations, and having adjusted his spectacles, he
read in a monotonous voice, made for reading the details of contracts:
My children, my dear children, I could not sleep the eternal sleep in
peace if I did not make to you from the tomb a confession, the
confession of a crime, remorse for which has ruined my life. Yes, I
committed a crime, a frightful, abominable crime.
I was twenty-six years old, and I had just been called to the bar in
Paris, and was living the life off young men from the provinces who
are stranded in this town without acquaintances, relatives, or friends.
I took a sweetheart. There are beings who cannot live alone. I was one
of those. Solitude fills me with horrible anguish, the solitude of my
room beside my fire in the evening. I feel then as if I were alone on
earth, alone, but surrounded by vague dangers, unknown and terrible
things; and the partition that separates me from my neighbor, my
25
neighbor whom I do not know, keeps me at as great a distance from
him as the stars that I see through my window. A sort of fever
pervades me, a fever of impatience and of fear, and the silence of the
walls terrifies me. The silence of a room where one lives alone is so
intense and so melancholy It is not only a silence of the mind; when a
piece of furniture cracks a shudder goes through you for you expect
no noise in this melancholy abode.
How many times, nervous and timid from this motionless silence, I
have begun to talk, to repeat words without rhyme or reason, only to
make some sound. My voice at those times sounds so strange that I
am afraid of that, too. Is there anything more dreadful than talking to
one's self in an empty house? One's voice sounds like that of another,
an unknown voice talking aimlessly, to no one, into the empty air,
with no ear to listen to it, for one knows before they escape into the
solitude of the room exactly what words will be uttered. And when
they resound lugubriously in the silence, they seem no more than an
echo, the peculiar echo of words whispered by ones thought.
My sweetheart was a young girl like other young girls who live in
Paris on wages that are insufficient to keep them. She was gentle,
good, simple. Her parents lived at Poissy. She went to spend several
days with them from time to time.
For a year I lived quietly with her, fully decided to leave her when I
should find someone whom I liked well enough to marry. I would
make a little provision for this one, for it is an understood thing in our
social set that a woman's love should be paid for, in money if she is
poor, in presents if she is rich.
But one day she told me she was enceinte. I was thunderstruck, and
saw in a second that my life would be ruined. I saw the fetter that I
should wear until my death, everywhere, in my future family life, in
my old age, forever; the fetter of a woman bound to my life through a
child; the fetter of the child whom I must bring up, watch over,
26
protect, while keeping myself unknown to him, and keeping him
hidden from the world.
I was greatly disturbed at this news, and a confused longing, a
criminal desire, surged through my mind; I did not formulate it, but I
felt it in my heart, ready to come to the surface, as if someone hidden
behind a portiere should await the signal to come out. If some
accident might only happen! So many of these little beings die before
they are born!
Oh! I did not wish my sweetheart to die! The poor girl, I loved her
very much! But I wished, possibly, that the child might die before I
saw it.
He was born. I set up housekeeping in my little bachelor apartment,
an imitation home, with a horrible child. He looked like all children; I
did not care for him. Fathers, you see, do not show affection until
later. They have not the instinctive and passionate tenderness of
mothers; their affection has to be awakened gradually, their mind
must become attached by bonds formed each day between beings that
live in each other's society.
A year passed. I now avoided my home, which was too small, where
soiled linen, baby-clothes and stockings the size of gloves were lying
round, where a thousand articles of all descriptions lay on the
furniture, on the arm of an easy-chair, everywhere. I went out chiefly
that I might not hear the child cry, for he cried on the slightest pretext,
when he was bathed, when he was touched, when he was put to bed,
when he was taken up in the morning, incessantly.
I had made a few acquaintances, and I met at a reception the woman
who was to be your mother. I fell in love with her and became
desirous to marry her. I courted her; I asked her parents' consent to
our marriage and it was granted.
I found myself in this dilemma: I must either marry this young girl
whom I adored, having a child already, or else tell the truth and
27
renounce her, and happiness, my future, everything; for her parents,
who were people of rigid principles, would not give her to me if they
knew.
I passed a month of horrible anguish, of mortal torture, a month
haunted by a thousand frightful thoughts; and I felt developing in me
a hatred toward my son, toward that little morsel of living, screaming
flesh, who blocked my path, interrupted my life, condemned me to an
existence without hope, without all those vague expectations that
make the charm of youth.
But just then my companion's mother became ill, and I was left alone
with the child.
It was in December, and the weather was terribly cold. What a night!
My companion had just left. I had dined alone in my little dining-
room and I went gently into the room where the little one was asleep.
I sat down in an armchair before the fire. The wind was blowing,
making the windows rattle, a dry, frosty wind; and I saw trough the
window the stars shining with that piercing brightness that they have
on frosty nights.
Then the idea that had obsessed me for a month rose again to the
surface. As soon as I was quiet it came to me and harassed me. It ate
into my mind like a fixed idea, just as cancers must eat into the flesh.
It was there, in my head, in my heart, in my whole body, it seemed to
me; and it swallowed me up as a wild beast might have. I endeavored
to drive it away, to repulse it, to open my mind to other thoughts, as
one opens a window to the fresh morning breeze to drive out the
vitiated air; but I could not drive it from my brain, not even for a
second. I do not know how to express this torture. It gnawed at my
soul, and I felt a frightful pain, a real physical and moral pain.
My life was ruined! How could I escape from this situation? How
could I draw back, and how could I confess?
28
And I loved the one who was to become your mother with a mad
passion, which this insurmountable obstacle only aggravated.
A terrible rage was taking possession of me, choking me, a rage that
verged on madness! Surely I was crazy that evening!
The child was sleeping. I got up and looked at it as it slept. It was he,
this abortion, this spawn, this nothing, that condemned me to
irremediable unhappiness!
He was asleep, his mouth open, wrapped in his bed-clothes in a crib
beside my bed, where I could not sleep.
How did I ever do what I did? How do I know? What force urged me
on? What malevolent power took possession of me? Oh! The
temptation to crime came to me without any forewarning. All I recall
is that my heart beat tumultuously. It beat so hard that I could hear it,
as one hears the strokes of a hammer behind a partition. That is all I
can recall--the beating of my heart! In my head there was a strange
confusion, a tumult, a senseless disorder, a lack of presence of mind.
It was one of those hours of bewilderment and hallucination when a
man is neither conscious of his actions nor able to guide his will.
I gently raised the coverings from the body of the child; I turned them
down to the foot of the crib, and he lay there uncovered and naked.
He did not wake. Then I went toward the window, softly, quite softly,
and I opened it.
A breath of icy air glided in like an assassin; it was so cold that I drew
aside, and the two candles flickered. I remained standing near the
window, not daring to turn round, as if for fear of seeing what was
doing on behind me, and feeling the icy air continually across my
forehead, my cheeks, my hands, the deadly air which kept streaming
in. I stood there a long time.
I was not thinking, I was not reflecting. All at once a little cough
caused me to shudder frightfully from head to foot, a shudder that I
29
feel still to the roots of my hair. And with a frantic movement I
abruptly closed both sides of the window and, turning round, ran over
to the crib.
He was still asleep, his mouth open, quite naked. I touched his legs;
they were icy cold and I covered them up.
My heart was suddenly touched, grieved, filled with pity, tenderness,
love for this poor innocent being that I had wished to kill. I kissed his
fine, soft hair long and tenderly; then I went and sat down before the
fire.
I reflected with amazement with horror on what I had done, asking
myself whence come those tempests of the soul in which a man loses
all perspective of things, all command over himself and acts as in a
condition of mad intoxication, not knowing whither he is going--like a
vessel in a hurricane.
The child coughed again, and it gave my heart a wrench. Suppose it
should die! O God! O God! What would become of me?
I rose from my chair to go and look at him, and with a candle in my
hand I leaned over him. Seeing him breathing quietly I felt reassured,
when he coughed a third time. It gave me such a shock tat I started
backward, just as one does at sight of something horrible, and let my
candle fall.
As I stood erect after picking it up, I noticed that my temples were
bathed in perspiration, that cold sweat which is the result of anguish
of soul. And I remained until daylight bending over my son,
becoming calm when he remained quiet for some time, and filled with
atrocious pain when a weak cough came from his mouth.
He awoke with his eyes red, his throat choked, and with an air of
suffering.
30
When the woman came in to arrange my room I sent her at once for a
doctor. He came at the end of an hour, and said, after examining the
child:
"Did he not catch cold?"
I began to tremble like a person with palsy, and I faltered:
"No, I do not think so."
And then I said:
"What is the matter? Is it serious?"
"I do not know yet," he replied. "I will come again this evening."
He came that evening. My son had remained almost all day in a
condition of drowsiness, coughing from time to time. During the night
inflammation of the lungs set in.
That lasted ten days. I cannot express what I suffered in those
interminable hours that divide morning from night, right from
morning.
He died.
And since--since that moment, I have not passed one hour, not a
single hour, without the frightful burning recollection, a gnawing
recollection, a memory that seems to wring my heart, awaking in me
like a savage beast imprisoned in the depth of my soul.
Oh! if I could have gone mad!
M. Poirel de la Voulte raised his spectacles with a motion that was
peculiar to him whenever he finished reading a contract; and the three
heirs of the defunct looked at one another without speaking, pale and
motionless.
At the end of a minute the lawyer resumed:
"That must be destroyed."
31
The other two bent their heads in sign of assent. He lighted a candle,
carefully separated the pages containing the damaging confession
from those relating to the disposition of money, then he held them
over the candle and threw them into the fireplace.
And they watched the white sheets as they burned, till they were
presently reduced to little crumbling black heaps. And as some words
were still visible in white tracing, the daughter, with little strokes of
the toe of her shoe, crushed the burning paper, mixing it with the old
ashes in the fireplace.
Then all three stood there watching it for some time, as if they feared
that the destroyed secret might escape from the fireplace.
Lesson 8
Police Summer Camp
Recent shootings by police officers have raised anger in some
American communities. The Washington Post newspaper reported
that police officers killed 24 unarmed black men in the past year.
These shooting incidents have led to anti-police protests in several
U.S. cities.
The Maryland-National Capital Park Police is reaching out to
young people. They started a program called “Cops for Kids.” It
started in 1998 as a way to bring police and the community together.
Police Officer Lakeisha Robinson helps to run Cops for Kids. She
says instructors want kids to teach other kids that police officers are
there to help them. About 40 children between the ages of nine and 12
signed up this year. They learned what it is like to be a police officer
—or “cop.”
32
Police Officer Randy Green showed his shiny black
motorcycle to the children. They formed a circle around him and
asked questions about his job. The kids also learned about police
horses. An officer explained how to take care of the horses and the
children got to ride them. They visited a training camp for the Secret
Service, the agency that protects President Obama and his family. The
police also took the children to a courthouse to watch an actual trial.
Organizers want the children to see what can happen if they
break the law. There was also time for regular camp activities—
swimming, bowling, and laser tag. But for many campers, it was the
police activities that kept them coming back again.
Who You Are Makes a Difference

Helice Bridges
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in
high school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a
process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she
called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she
told them how the student made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with
gold letters which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."
Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see
what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She
gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to
go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to
follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to
the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a
nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career
planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he
gave him two extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on
33
recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor,
give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they
can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment
ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what
happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who
had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat
his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a
creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive
asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he
give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well,
sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on
his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon,
he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon
and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first
gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep
this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat
him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today.
I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told
me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative
genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue
ribbon that says 'Who I Am Makes a Difference' on my jacket above
my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody
else to honor.
As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom
I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to
honor you. "My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't
pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not
getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a
mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let
you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother,
34
you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I
love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop
crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said
through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow,
Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."
New Apple Products and Upgrades Go on Sale

Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, recently announced
updates to Apple products. With the Apple Watch, updates include
new watch faces, and features.
"Complications" show battery life, temperature, calendar
appointments and other information on the watch face. "Time Travel"
allows the user to see weather or calendar events in the past or future.
Applications will show videos and use the Watch’s health sensors.
One app called “Airstrip” allows doctors to see patient data in
real time. Pregnant mothers, for example, will be able to see and hear
their baby’s heartbeat. Mr. Cook also talked about the new iPad. He
called it “our clearest vision of the future of personal computing.” He
said it has an improved display and processes information faster than
earlier iPads.
The iPad Pro is large, the screen 32.8 cm long, and comes with
a full-sized on-screen keyboard, and an optional Smart Keyboard.
Apple also introduced the Apple Pencil, that senses force, pressure
and tilt. Mr. Cook talked about a new generation Apple TV. It will be
able to run apps and use Siri, the voice app on iPhones. Apple TV can
have Siri find and navigate videos.
35
Apple also introduced the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus. They
remain the size same, but they work faster and come in a new color.
The camera has been upgraded to take larger videos and produce
better images for the FaceTime video call app and for selfie images.
And the phone can now turn still photos into brief videos.
Lesson 9
African Universities: More Students, Less Money
Education experts say Africa’s growing higher education
system is important to its economic development. But African
universities face many problems, including emigration of top
students, poor infrastructure, and high demand combined with a lack
of money.
University leaders from around the African continent met in
Johannesburg recently to discuss how to solve these issues and others.
The academics who attended the African Universities Summit say the
job of educating Africa's students is harder than it has to be.
Engineering professor David Mfinanga is a vice chancellor at
the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He says the main
problem facing universities is the high number of students. He says
there has to be a balance between having more students and keeping
the quality of the education.
Pinkie Mekgwe is an administrator at the University of
Johannesburg. She says schools face another problem: lack of money.
She says budgets are even tighter after the 2009 global economic
crisis reduced African governments' budgets. Ousmane Sene is
director of the Senegal-based West African Research Center. He says
it is a real problem if students get out of a university and cannot find a
good job.
36
African educators say the issues universities face are just as
serious as many of the other difficult problems of society, such as
war, famine, poverty and quickly changing leaders. However, they
say solving higher education’s problems may help solve the others.
The Little Match Girl

by Hans Christian Andersen
Although he is well noted for his fairy-tales, the poignant story of The
Little Match Girl or The Little Matchstick Girl is a great example of
Hans Christian Andersen's broad literary talent and ability. I
personally like to read this story at least twice a year, once in Autumn
as the holiday season comes into focus, and then again around the
Christmas holiday. It's a gentle reminder of the value of compassion
and charity.
Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and
evening-- the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there
went along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked
feet. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was
the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had
hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as
she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that
rolled by dreadfully fast.
One slipper was nowhere to be found; the other had been laid hold of
by an urchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally
for a cradle when he some day or other should have children himself.
So the little maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet that were quite
red and blue from cold. She carried a quantity of matches in an old
apron, and she held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had bought
37
anything of her the whole livelong day; no one had given her a single
farthing.
She crept along trembling with cold and hunger--a very picture of
sorrow, the poor little thing!
The flakes of snow covered her long fair hair, which fell in beautiful
curls around her neck; but of that, of course, she never once now
thought. From all the windows the candles were gleaming, and it
smelt so deliciously of roast goose, for you know it was New Year's
Eve; yes, of that she thought.
In a corner formed by two houses, of which one advanced more than
the other, she seated herself down and cowered together. Her little
feet she had drawn close up to her, but she grew colder and colder,
and to go home she did not venture, for she had not sold any matches
and could not bring a farthing of money: from her father she would
certainly get blows, and at home it was cold too, for above her she
had only the roof, through which the wind whistled, even though the
largest cracks were stopped up with straw and rags.
Her little hands were almost numbed with cold. Oh! a match might
afford her a world of comfort, if she only dared take a single one out
of the bundle, draw it against the wall, and warm her fingers by it. She
drew one out. "Rischt!" how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm,
bright flame, like a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a
wonderful light. It seemed really to the little maiden as though she
were sitting before a large iron stove, with burnished brass feet and a
brass ornament at top. The fire burned with such blessed influence; it
warmed so delightfully. The little girl had already stretched out her
feet to warm them too; but--the small flame went out, the stove
vanished: she had only the remains of the burnt-out match in her
hand.
She rubbed another against the wall: it burned brightly, and where the
light fell on the wall, there the wall became transparent like a veil, so
that she could see into the room. On the table was spread a snow-
38
white tablecloth; upon it was a splendid porcelain service, and the
roast goose was steaming famously with its stuffing of apple and
dried plums. And what was still more capital to behold was, the goose
hopped down from the dish, reeled about on the floor with knife and
fork in its breast, till it came up to the poor little girl; when--the match
went out and nothing but the thick, cold, damp wall was left behind.
She lighted another match. Now there she was sitting under the most
magnificent Christmas tree: it was still larger, and more decorated
than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich
merchant's house.
Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches, and gaily-
colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked
down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards
them when--the match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose
higher and higher, she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell
down and formed a long trail of fire.
"Someone is just dead!" said the little girl; for her old grandmother,
the only person who had loved her, and who was now no more, had
told her, that when a star falls, a soul ascends to God.
She drew another match against the wall: it was again light, and in the
lustre there stood the old grandmother, so bright and radiant, so mild,
and with such an expression of love.
"Grandmother!" cried the little one. "Oh, take me with you! You go
away when the match burns out; you vanish like the warm stove, like
the delicious roast goose, and like the magnificent Christmas tree!"
And she rubbed the whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall,
for she wanted to be quite sure of keeping her grandmother near her.
And the matches gave such a brilliant light that it was brighter than at
noon-day: never formerly had the grandmother been so beautiful and
so tall. She took the little maiden, on her arm, and both flew in
brightness and in joy so high, so very high, and then above was
neither cold, nor hunger, nor anxiety--they were with God.
39
But in the corner, at the cold hour of dawn, sat the poor girl, with rosy
cheeks and with a smiling mouth, leaning against the wall--frozen to
death on the last evening of the old year. Stiff and stark sat the child
there with her matches, of which one bundle had been burnt. "She
wanted to warm herself," people said. No one had the slightest
suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen; no one even dreamed
of the splendor in which, with her grandmother she had entered on the
joys of a new year.
Lesson 10
Study Shows How Poverty Could Limit Learning
Studies show that children from poor families have more
difficulty in school than other students. Now, American researchers
may have found a biological reason. They found differences in the
brains of students who had low standardized test scores. Their brains
had less gray matter, or neural tissue.
The parts of their brains called the temporal lobes developed
more slowly than other children. Temporal lobes and gray matter are
very important brain areas, says researcher Barbara Wolfe. She is a
professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She said the
brain areas are "critical” because they keep developing until
individuals are in their teens or early 20s. She says they are important
for decision making.
Researchers studied brain images of nearly 400 children and
young adults. On average, young people from poor families had test
results between three and four points below their age group. The
poorest students scored between eight and 10 points below normal.
40
Ms. Wolfe says one reason could be that poor children do not
get the food they need for healthy development. And, poor parents are
less likely to stimulate their children’s brains. Ms. Wolfe also blames
the stress parents have in dealing with poverty.
The researchers say that up to 20 percent of the test difference
could be tied to poverty. Ms. Wolfe suggests early action may help
children living in poverty. The findings were reported in the journal
JAMA Pediatrics.
Love and the Cabbie

Art Buchwald
I was in New York the other day and rode with a friend in a taxi.
When we got out, my friend said to the driver, "Thank you for the
ride. You did a superb job of driving."
The taxi driver was stunned for a second. Then he said, "Are you a
wise guy or something?" "No, my dear man, and I'm not putting you
on. I admire the way you keep cool in heavy traffic."
"Yeah," the driver said and drove off. "What was that all about?" I
asked.
"I am trying to bring love back to New York," he said. "I believe it's
the only thing that can save the city."
"How can one man save New York?"
"It's not one man. I believe I have made that taxi driver's day. Suppose
he has 20 fares. He's going to be nice to those 20 fares because
someone was nice to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their
employees or shopkeepers or waiters or even their own families.
Eventually the goodwill could spread to at least 1,000 people. Now
that isn't bad, is it?"
41
"But you're depending on that taxi driver to pass your goodwill to
others."
"I'm not depending on it," my friend said.
"I'm aware that the system isn't foolproof so I might deal with ten
different people today. If out of ten I can make three happy, then
eventually I can indirectly influence the attitudes of 3,000 more."
“It sounds good on paper," I admitted, "but I'm not sure it works in
practice."
"Nothing is lost if it doesn't. It didn't take any of my time to tell that
man he was doing a good job. He neither received a larger tip nor a
smaller tip. If it fell on deaf ears, so what? Tomorrow there will be
another taxi driver I can try to make happy."
"You're some kind of a nut," I said.
"That shows how cynical you have become. I have made a study of
this. The thing that seems to be lacking, besides money of course, for
our postal employees, is that no one tells people who work for the
post office what a good job they're doing."
"But they're not doing a good job."
"They're not doing a good job because they feel no one cares if they
do or not. Why shouldn't someone say a kind word to them?"
We were walking past a structure in the process of being built and
passed five workmen eating their lunch. My friend stopped.
"That's a magnificent job you men have done. It must be difficult and
dangerous work." The workmen eyed my friend suspiciously.
"When will it be finished?"
"June," a man grunted." Ah. That really is impressive. You must all
be very proud." We walked away. I said to him, "I haven't seen
anyone like you since Man of La Mancha."
42
"When those men digest my words, they will feel better for it.
Somehow the city will benefit from their happiness."
"But you can't do this all alone!" I protested. "You're just one man."
"The most important thing is not to get discouraged. Making people in
the city become kind again is not an easy job, but if I can enlist other
people in my campaign ..."
"You just winked at a very plain-looking woman," I said.
"Yes, I know," he replied. "And if she's a schoolteacher, her class will
be in for a fantastic day."
Cuba Internet
The United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic
relations two months ago. This has led to better use of the Internet on
the island nation. Until recently, it has been difficult for Cubans to get
online with the rest of the world.
Reports say only five percent of the population has full use of
the Internet. Now, the Cuban government has approved sales of pre-
paid cards for use of the Internet. Roberto Gonzalez of Cuba is a
wireless Internet user. He is happy about the government’s approval.
He says people can connect to the world and communicate with their
friends.
The Cuban government owns the telecommunications
company ETECSA. The company sells a limited number of the pre-
paid cards each day. Cubans can buy 30 minutes of Internet time for
about two dollars. Galeano Park is one of 35 wireless centers across
Cuba.
The pre-paid cards can be used for any cell phone, laptop
computer or tablet. But there are restrictions. Internet users can only
43
make video calls using a government-approved application. Joe
Arriola is a former city manager of Miami, Florida. He says it is time
to open the doors and communicate.
The Cuban government says that Internet service is only
provided by satellite because of U.S. restrictions on Cuba. But, many
people hope that improved relations will mean technology companies
can build better communications links. That could mean more
communications towers, fiber optic cable and smart phone sales.
Lesson 11
A Simple Gesture
John W. Schlatter
“Everybody can be great . . . because anybody can serve. You don't
have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your
subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A
soul generated by love.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the
boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was
carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small
tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the
scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to
carry part of the burden.
As they walked Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he
loved video games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of
trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his
girlfriend. They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in
for a Coke and to watch some television.
The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared
small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other
44
around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated
from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school
where they had brief contacts over the years.
Finally the long awaited senior year came, and three weeks before
graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill reminded him of
the day years ago when they had first met.
"Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that
day?" asked Bill.
"You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a
mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping
pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent
some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed
myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might
follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you
did a lot more. You saved my life."
Amy Graham
Mark V. Hansen
After flying all night from Washington, D.C., I was tired as I arrived
at the Mile High Church in Denver to conduct three services and hold
a workshop on prosperity consciousness.
As I entered the church, Dr. Fred Vogt asked me, "Do you know
about the Make-A-Wish Foundation?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Well, Amy Graham has been diagnosed as having terminal leukemia.
They gave her three days. Her dying wish was to attend your
services."
45
I was shocked. I felt a combination of elation, awe and doubt. I
couldn't believe it. I thought kids who were dying would want to go
see Disneyland, meet Sylvester Stallone, Mr. "T" or Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Surely they wouldn't want to spend their final days
listening to Mark Victor Hansen. Why would a kid with only a few
days to live want to come hear a motivational speaker?
Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted.... "Here's Amy," Vogt said as
he put her frail hand in mine.
Before me stood a 17-year-old girl wearing a bright red and orange
turban to cover her head, which was bald from all of the
chemotherapy treatments. Her frail body was bent and weak.
She said, "My two goals were to graduate from high school and to
attend your sermon. My doctors didn't believe I could do either. They
didn't think I'd have enough energy. I got discharged into my parents'
care… This is my mom and dad."
Tears welled in my eyes; I was choked up. My equilibrium was being
shaken. I was totally moved. I cleared my throat, smiled and said,
"You and your folks are our guests. Thanks for wanting to come."
We hugged, dabbed our eyes and separated. I've attended many
healing seminars in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, New
Zealand and Australia. I've watched the best healers at work and I've
studied, researched, listened, pondered and questioned what worked,
why and how.
That Sunday afternoon I held a seminar that Amy and her parents
attended. The audience was packed to overflowing with over a
thousand attendees eager to learn, grow and become more fully
human. I humbly asked the audience if they wanted to learn a healing
process that might serve them for life. From the stage it appeared that
everyone's hand was raised high in the air. They unanimously wanted
to learn.
46
I taught the audience how to vigorously rub their hands together,
separate them by two inches and feel the healing energy. Then I paired
them off with a partner to feel the healing energy emanating from
themselves to another.
I said, "If you need a healing, accept one here and now."
The audience was in alignment and it was an ecstatic feeling. I
explained that everyone has healing energy and healing potential. Five
percent of us have it so dramatically pouring forth from our hands that
we could make it our profession.
I said, "This morning I was introduced to Amy Graham, a 17-year-
old, whose final wish was to be at this seminar. I want to bring her up
here and let you all send healing lifeforce energy toward her. Perhaps
we can help. She did not request it. I am just doing this spontaneously
because it feels right."
The audience chanted, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Amy's dad led her up onto the stage. She looked frail from all of the
chemotherapy, too much bed rest and an absolute lack of exercise.
(The doctors hadn't let her walk for the two weeks prior to this
seminar.) I had the group warm up their hands and send her healing
energy, after which they gave her a tearful standing ovation.
Two weeks later she called to say that her doctor had discharged her
after a total remission.
Two years later she called to say she was married. I have learned
never to underestimate the healing power we all have. It is always
there to be used for the highest good. We just have to remember to use
it.
A Story For Valentine's Day

Jo Ann Larsen, Deseret News
47
Larry and Jo Ann were an ordinary couple. They lived in an ordinary
house on an ordinary street. Like any other ordinary couple, they
struggled to make ends meet and to do the right things for their
children. They were ordinary in yet another way—they had their
squabbles. Much of their conversation concerned what was wrong in
their marriage and who was to blame. Until one day when a most
extraordinary event took place.
"You know, Jo Ann, I've got a magic chest of drawers. Every time I
open them, they're full of socks and underwear," Larry said.
"I want to thank you for filling them all these years."
Jo Ann stared at her husband over the top of her glasses.
"What do you want, Larry?"
"Nothing. I just want you to know I appreciate those magic drawers."
This wasn't the first time Larry had done something odd, so Jo Ann
pushed the incident out of her mind until a few days later.
"Jo Ann, thank you for recording so many correct check numbers in
the ledger this month. You put down the right numbers 15 out of 16
times. That's a record."
Disbelieving what she had heard, Jo Ann looked up from her
mending.
"Larry, you're always complaining about my recording the wrong
check numbers. Why stop now?"
"No reason. I just wanted you to know I appreciate the effort you're
making." Jo Ann shook her head and went back to her mending.
"What's got into him?" she mumbled to herself.
Nevertheless, the next day when Jo Ann wrote a check at the grocery
store, she glanced at her checkbook to confirm that she had put down
the right check number.
48
"Why do I suddenly care about those dumb check numbers?" she
asked herself.
She tried to disregard the incident, but Larry's strange behavior
intensified. "Jo Ann, that was a great dinner," he said one evening. "I
appreciate all your effort. Why, in the past 15 years I'll bet you've
fixed over 14,000 meals for me and the kids."
Then "Gee, Jo Ann, the house looks spiffy. You've really worked hard
to get it looking so good."
And even "Thanks, Jo Ann, for just being you. I really enjoy your
company." Jo Ann was growing worried.
"Where's the sarcasm, the criticism?" she wondered.
Her fears that something peculiar was happening to her husband were
confirmed by 16-year-old Shelly, who complained, "Dad's gone
bonkers, Mom. He just told me I looked nice. With all this makeup
and these sloppy clothes, he still said it. That's not Dad, Mom. What's
wrong with him?"
Whatever was wrong, Larry didn't get over it. Day in and day out he
continued focusing on the positive.
Over the weeks, Jo Ann grew more accustomed to her mate's unusual
behavior and occasionally even gave him a grudging "Thank you."
She prided herself on taking it all in stride, until one day something so
peculiar happened, she became completely discombobulated: "I want
you to take a break," Larry said.
"I am going to do the dishes. So please take your hands off that frying
pan and leave the kitchen." (Long, long pause.)
"Thank you, Larry. Thank you very much!"
Jo Ann's step was now a little lighter, her self-confidence higher and
once in a while she hummed. She didn't seem to have as many blue
moods anymore.
49
"I rather like Larry's new behavior," she thought. That would be the
end of the story except one day another most extraordinary event took
place. This time it was Jo Ann who spoke.
"Larry," she said, "I want to thank you for going to work and
providing for us all these years. I don't think I've ever told you how
much I appreciate it."
Larry has never revealed the reason for his dramatic change of
behavior no matter how hard Jo Ann has pushed for an answer, and so
it will likely remain one of life's mysteries. But it's one I'm thankful to
live with. You see, I am Jo Ann.
Robotic Vehicles Explore Celtic Sea

Scientists in England are using two self-directed water
vehicles to explore the animal and plant life of the Celtic Sea. The
Celtic Sea is a body of water off the southern coast of Ireland. The
area is known for its exceptional sea life.
Scientists want to know why marine animals are so attracted
to this part of the Atlantic Ocean. One of the research vehicles is
powered by batteries. It collects information for the National
Oceanography Center in Southampton, England, and the World
Wildlife Fund.
The vehicle’s low energy requirements permit it to stay afloat
for up to 30 days. Reports of what it finds in the Celtic Sea are sent by
satellite. Stephen Woodward is an engineer who helped design the
craft. He says the vehicle has equipment that can detect small
organisms called zooplankton and fish. He says other devices measure
water currents and other features of sea life. There is also a device
that creates a two-dimensional map of the sea.
50
Another research vehicle is powered by solar panels and a
wind turbine. It can stay afloat for months. The robotic vehicle sends
information about biodiversity hotspots. A biodiversity hotspot is an
area of an ocean that has a lot of plant and animal life activity.
Robotic ocean vehicles greatly reduce the cost of exploring the seas
with manned laboratories.
Scientists have more time to examine the collected
information. The research will help them understand the needs of the
Celtic Sea in order to protect and manage its future.
Low-Income Homes in Washington Get Solar Panels

Solar panels turn energy from the sun into electricity. They are
an increasingly common sight on the tops of homes in wealthy parts
of Washington, D.C. Now the costly technology is moving into a
lower-income area of the city. And, the people who live there are
getting the panels for free.
Southeast Washington D.C. is an area not known for new
technology. Tila Felder received solar panels for her home. She
praised the lower energy costs. She says her electric bill has dropped
from $200 a month to just $40 a month. Local officials make these
solar panels available to residents whose yearly earnings are at or
below $50,500 for a family of three.
Ted Trabue is with the local government program, DC
Sustainable Energy Utility. He says his group plans to put solar panels
on 135 homes this year. The goal for next year is 200 homes. Atta
Kiarash installs, or puts up, solar-equipment. He says he will set up as
many as 1,200 solar panels this year. Mr. Kiarash and other
Washington officials believe that number could double by 2016. The
program is paid for with fees from factories and oil processing centers
for their carbon dioxide emissions.
51
Government officials expect millions of dollars in savings as
the solar panels become more popular. Washington officials hope to
start a program next year to help small businesses install solar panels
on their buildings. They hope to turn the nation’s capital into an
environmentally-clean solar city.
Satellites Track Climate Change

Satellite technology is the newest tool for helping developing
countries deal with climate change and natural disasters. Satellites
measure conditions on the ground and share the data with
communities.
A partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development
developed such a system called SERVIR. SERVIR captures images
and environmental data, like dangerous weather, and changes in water
use. Scientists feed that information into computers.
The analysis is shared with people, governments and
organizations in the affected areas. It helps them to react and prepare.
Dan Irwin is the director of the NASA SERVIR Coordination Office.
He said that the SERVIR project shares important information with
countries all over the world. He says it can help them deal with issues
like air quality and loss of forests.
Jennifer Frankel-Reed is the Senior Climate Change Specialist
for USAID. She said SERVIR helped warn Bangladeshis of flooding,
and prevented people in El Salvador from eating unsafe seafood.
Kenya depends heavily on tea farming, and farmers there have
avoided losing crops to rising temperatures.
52
Developed in 2004, SERVIR brought together the U.S.
agencies with the World Bank and Central American Commission on
Environment and Development. The project now operates in more
than 30 countries.
The Happy Prince

by Oscar Wilde
High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy
Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes
he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his
sword-hilt.
He was very much admired indeed. "He is as beautiful as a
weathercock," remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to
gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; "only not quite so useful,"
he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he
really was not.
"Why can't you be like the Happy Prince?" asked a sensible mother of
her little boy who was crying for the moon. "The Happy Prince never
dreams of crying for anything."
"I am glad there is someone in the world who is quite happy,"
muttered a disappointed man as he gazed at the wonderful statue.
"He looks just like an angel," said the Charity Children as they came
out of the cathedral in their bright scarlet cloaks and their clean white
pinafores.
"How do you know?" said the Mathematical Master, "you have never
seen one."
53
"Ah! but we have, in our dreams," answered the children; and the
Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not
approve of children dreaming.
One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had
gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind, for
he was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in
the spring as he was flying down the river after a big yellow moth,
and had been so attracted by her slender waist that he had stopped to
talk to her.
"Shall I love you?" said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point
at once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he flew round and
round her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver
ripples. This was his courtship, and it lasted all through the summer.
"It is a ridiculous attachment," twittered the other Swallows; "she has
no money, and far too many relations"; and indeed the river was quite
full of Reeds. Then, when the autumn came they all flew away.
After they had gone he felt lonely, and began to tire of his lady- love.
"She has no conversation," he said, "and I am afraid that she is a
coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind." And certainly,
whenever the wind blew, the Reed made the most graceful curtseys.
"I admit that she is domestic," he continued, "but I love travelling, and
my wife, consequently, should love travelling also."
"Will you come away with me?" he said finally to her; but the Reed
shook her head, she was so attached to her home.
"You have been trifling with me," he cried. "I am off to the Pyramids.
Good-bye!" and he flew away.
All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived at the city. "Where
shall I put up?" he said; "I hope the town has made preparations."
Then he saw the statue on the tall column.
54
"I will put up there," he cried; "it is a fine position, with plenty of
fresh air." So he alighted just between the feet of the Happy Prince.
"I have a golden bedroom," he said softly to himself as he looked
round, and he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his
head under his wing a large drop of water fell on him. "What a
curious thing!" he cried; "there is not a single cloud in the sky, the
stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the
north of Europe is really dreadful. The Reed used to like the rain, but
that was merely her selfishness."
Then another drop fell.
"What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?" he said; "I
must look for a good chimney-pot," and he determined to fly away.
But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he looked
up, and saw - Ah! what did he see?
The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were
running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the
moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.
"Who are you?" he said.
"I am the Happy Prince."
"Why are you weeping then?" asked the Swallow; "you have quite
drenched me."
"When I was alive and had a human heart," answered the statue, "I did
not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans- Souci,
where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my
companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the
Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared
to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My
courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if
pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am
dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness
55
and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet
I cannot chose but weep."
"What! is he not solid gold?" said the Swallow to himself. He was too
polite to make any personal remarks out loud.
"Far away," continued the statue in a low musical voice, "far away in
a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is open, and
through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her face is thin and
worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked by the needle, for she
is a seamstress. She is embroidering passion- flowers on a satin gown
for the loveliest of the Queen's maids-of- honour to wear at the next
Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of the room her little boy is lying ill.
He has a fever, and is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to
give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little
Swallow, will you not bring her the ruby out of my sword-hilt? My
feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move."
"I am waited for in Egypt," said the Swallow. "My friends are flying
up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus- flowers. Soon
they will go to sleep in the tomb of the great King. The King is there
himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped in yellow linen, and
embalmed with spices. Round his neck is a chain of pale green jade,
and his hands are like withered leaves."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so
thirsty, and the mother so sad."
"I don't think I like boys," answered the Swallow. "Last summer,
when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller's
sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, of
course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and besides, I come of a
family famous for its agility; but still, it was a mark of disrespect."
56
But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was sorry.
"It is very cold here," he said; "but I will stay with you for one night,
and be your messenger."
"Thank you, little Swallow," said the Prince.
So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince's sword,
and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.
He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were
sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing.
A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover. "How
wonderful the stars are," he said to her, "and how wonderful is the
power of love!"
"I hope my dress will be ready in time for the State-ball," she
answered; "I have ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it;
but the seamstresses are so lazy."
He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts of
the ships. He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews bargaining
with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales. At last he
came to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly
on his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he
hopped, and laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman's
thimble. Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy's
forehead with his wings. "How cool I feel," said the boy, "I must be
getting better"; and he sank into a delicious slumber.
Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what
he had done. "It is curious," he remarked, "but I feel quite warm now,
although it is so cold."
"That is because you have done a good action," said the Prince. And
the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep. Thinking
always made him sleepy.
57
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath. "What a
remarkable phenomenon," said the Professor of Ornithology as he
was passing over the bridge. "A swallow in winter!" And he wrote a
long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it, it was
full of so many words that they could not understand.
"To-night I go to Egypt," said the Swallow, and he was in high spirits
at the prospect. He visited all the public monuments, and sat a long
time on top of the church steeple. Wherever he went the Sparrows
chirruped, and said to each other, "What a distinguished stranger!" so
he enjoyed himself very much.
When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. "Have you
any commissions for Egypt?" he cried; "I am just starting."
stay with me one night longer?"
"I am waited for in Egypt," answered the Swallow. "To-morrow my
friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse couches
there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne sits the God
Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when the morning
star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is silent. At noon the
yellow lions come down to the water's edge to drink. They have eyes
like green beryls, and their roar is louder than the roar of the cataract.
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "far away across
the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over a desk
covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of
withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his lips are red as a
pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish
a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any
more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint."
"I will wait with you one night longer," said the Swallow, who really
had a good heart. "Shall I take him another ruby?"
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"Alas! I have no ruby now," said the Prince; "my eyes are all that I
have left. They are made of rare sapphires, which were brought out of
India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him.
He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy food and firewood, and finish
his play."
"Dear Prince," said the Swallow, "I cannot do that"; and he began to
weep.
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "do as I
command you."
So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye, and flew away to the
student's garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in
the roof. Through this he darted, and came into the room. The young
man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the flutter of
the bird's wings, and when he looked up he found the beautiful
sapphire lying on the withered violets.
"I am beginning to be appreciated," he cried; "this is from some great
admirer. Now I can finish my play," and he looked quite happy.
The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the
mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests out
of the hold with ropes. "Heave a-hoy!" they shouted as each chest
came up. "I am going to Egypt"! cried the Swallow, but nobody
minded, and when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.
"I am come to bid you good-bye," he cried.
stay with me one night longer?"
"It is winter," answered the Swallow, "and the chill snow will soon be
here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the
crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My companions
are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white
doves are watching them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I
59
must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will
bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given
away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall
be as blue as the great sea."
"In the square below," said the Happy Prince, "there stands a little
match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all
spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some
money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little
head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father
will not beat her."
"I will stay with you one night longer," said the Swallow, "but I
cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "do as I
command you."
So he plucked out the Prince's other eye, and darted down with it. He
swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of
her hand. "What a lovely bit of glass," cried the little girl; and she ran
home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. "You are blind now," he
said, "so I will stay with you always."
"No, little Swallow," said the poor Prince, "you must go away to
Egypt."
"I will stay with you always," said the Swallow, and he slept at the
Prince's feet.
All the next day he sat on the Prince's shoulder, and told him stories
of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the red ibises,
who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and catch gold-fish
in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world itself, and
lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants, who walk
slowly by the side of their camels, and carry amber beads in their
60
hands; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as black as
ebony, and worships a large crystal; of the great green snake that
sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey-
cakes; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat
leaves, and are always at war with the butterflies.
"Dear little Swallow," said the Prince, "you tell me of marvellous
things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and
of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over my city,
little Swallow, and tell me what you see there."
So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making
merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the
gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving
children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway
of a bridge two little boys were lying in one another's arms to try and
keep themselves warm. "How hungry we are!" they said. "You must
not lie here," shouted the Watchman, and they wandered out into the
rain.
Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen.
"I am covered with fine gold," said the Prince, "you must take it off,
leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the living always think that gold
can make them happy."
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy
Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he
brought to the poor, and the children's faces grew rosier, and they
laughed and played games in the street. "We have bread now!" they
cried.
Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets
looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and
glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves
of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore
scarlet caps and skated on the ice.
61
The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not
leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs outside
the baker's door when the baker was not looking and tried to keep
himself warm by flapping his wings.
But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength to
fly up to the Prince's shoulder once more. "Good-bye, dear Prince!"
he murmured, "will you let me kiss your hand?"
"I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow," said the
Prince, "you have stayed too long here; but you must kiss me on the
lips, for I love you."
"It is not to Egypt that I am going," said the Swallow. "I am going to
the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?"
And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his
feet.
At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if
something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped
right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.
Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in
company with the Town Councillors. As they passed the column he
looked up at the statue: "Dear me! how shabby the Happy Prince
looks!" he said.
"How shabby indeed!" cried the Town Councillors, who always
agreed with the Mayor; and they went up to look at it.
"The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are gone, and he is
golden no longer," said the Mayor in fact, "he is litttle beter than a
beggar!"
"Little better than a beggar," said the Town Councillors.
62
"And here is actually a dead bird at his feet!" continued the Mayor.
"We must really issue a proclamation that birds are not to be allowed
to die here." And the Town Clerk made a note of the suggestion.
So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince. "As he is no
longer beautiful he is no longer useful," said the Art Professor at the
University.
Then they melted the statue in a furnace, and the Mayor held a
meeting of the Corporation to decide what was to be done with the
metal. "We must have another statue, of course," he said, "and it shall
be a statue of myself."
"Of myself," said each of the Town Councillors, and they quarrelled.
When I last heard of them they were quarrelling still.
"What a strange thing!" said the overseer of the workmen at the
foundry. "This broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We
must throw it away." So they threw it on a dust-heap where the dead
Swallow was also lying.
"Bring me the two most precious things in the city," said God to one
of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the
dead bird.
"You have rightly chosen," said God, "for in my garden of Paradise
this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the
Happy Prince shall praise me."
63

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Lesson 1

Academic Writing: Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay

Motion Sickness Device

"But where did he come from?" the gardener asked.

"But what is he called?" asked the gardener.

"Where is he going?" asked the gardener.

"What have you to do?" the children asked.

"Why do we not help too?"

"You are the passengers."

"How far have you to go?" they asked.

"Will you really touch it?" they said, awestruck.

"Why, the builders, of course. Men set it up."

"Perhaps we too shall reach it someday," they said.

The United States Department of Education says

Self-Driving Cars Hitting the Road

Love: The One Creative Force

The Frog Prince

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it

'Open the door, my princess dear,

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Allergy Fighting Material

Meet Betty Azar

All Veziers-le-Rethel had followed the funeral procession of M.

Who You Are Makes a Difference

New Apple Products and Upgrades Go on Sale

The Little Match Girl

Love and the Cabbie

A Story For Valentine's Day

Robotic Vehicles Explore Celtic Sea

Low-Income Homes in Washington Get Solar Panels

Satellites Track Climate Change

The Happy Prince

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