"Once upon a time...", that's how every children's fairy tale begins.

We have heard
that expression so many times that it has become a part of our childhood, our
memories, and our dear longings. Traveling back in time, we find ourselves here,
once upon a time...

Time after time, once upon a time is becoming once in a blue moon. Leaving those
amusing characters behind, the younger generation now spend more time on social
media like youtube, facebook and tiktok. Does anyone feel like caring about those,
anymore?

Depth put in by distance, I’m still hoping that the curtains will be pulled up one
more time, the lights be turned on one more time. But still, let us relive those days.
Come friends, come and hear our story.

Once upon a time...

SCRIPT

A STORY ABOUT UNCLE HO

Scene I: Introduction

Narrator: The life of loving Uncle Ho might be regarded as a never-ending

journey for the nation's independence and freedom, as well as for the happiness of
the people. Nguyen Ai Quoc returned to Vietnam after traveling across three seas,
four continents , over 30 nations, hundreds of large and small cities, and
encountering various people and civilizations. Finding the path to national
liberation under Marxism-Leninism begins with a very significant milestone - the
day Uncle Ho departed Nha Rong harbor to find an approach to defend the country
(June 5, nineteen eleven), more than a century ago. There are many touching
stories about him throughout that "thousand-mile" journey, one must be the time
when he started working as a sailor on Latouche-Tréville.

Scene II: Uncle Ho

Narrator:Uncle Ho, then known as Van Ba, chose to get on the Admiral Latouche-
Tréville ship when he was just 21 years old, in order to acquire the admirable
civilization of western countries to stick up for Vietnam.

Narrator:After boarding the ship, the captain introduced Uncle Ho and sent him to
the chef:

Uncle Ho: Good morning, Captain, my name is Van Ba. I am really grateful to
you for taking me on.

Captain: No problem. You are always welcomed for your enthusiasm. Now here
comes the chef, who will show you the duties while you are on the ship.

Uncle Ho: Nice to meet you.Please take good care of me.

The chef: There is no need to excuse. Because this is your first day abroad, I will
give you a tour of the ship and show you the accommodations. You will start
working tomorrow.

Narrator:On the way to the kitchen.Everything continued to surprise Van Ba.The

big and wide corridor was freshly painted and smelled wonderful. The monitor
room, complete with sophisticated-looking items. Passenger rooms had golden
plating bearing the room number. When the chef was telling Van Ba about the
ship, he kept rotating his head right and left, back and forth, to get a full picture of
this magnificent marvel.

Narrator: The captain then took him to the ship's crew's common area. He was
looking forward to greeting his new mates. The room was big, with two bunk beds
packed near together. Uncle strolled over and unpacked his thing, as well as
rearranged the messy surrounding . There is just a limited space on the bed for
personal items, and a mat is laid out. After packing, Uncle noted to himself that his
present level of French restricted his ability to converse easily with others, which
would give him many problems on the ship and after he got to France. After some
thought, Uncle grabbed the advanced French book to study. Despite other
housemates' offers to play cards, Uncle studied diligently. He studied till late at
night before retiring to bed.

Narrator: Next day, Uncle Ho was given the tough work of peeling potatoes, yet
he was soon given extra jobs such as picking vegetables, cleaning the house,
washing dishes, and not to mention, taking order of the French customers:

Uncle Ho: Pardon me, sir. Would you like to order already?

Gentleman: Well let’s see. Cassoulet, potato dauphinoise and red wine, please.

Uncle Ho: Yes, I got it all.

Gentleman: Wow young man, your French is really good, you have practiced a lot,
haven't you?

Uncle Ho: I really appreciate your praise, thank you ma’am

Narrator: With his efforts, he was able to accomplish all of the prescribed tasks in
a reasonable amount of time. But instead of immediately relaxing, he pulled out his
French book and continued his studies. When another crew member on the ship
noticed Uncle Ho's passion to learn, he decided to come over and tutor him. Day
by day, every morning, Uncle Ho attempted to complete work early so he could
study. After a long day of work, Uncle did not stop to rest and kept on studying in
the evening. He studied until dark, when the ship's light was switched off, but then
he used his light to continue his work. The crew contributed to Uncle's job by
informing him about France and the French. Meanwhile, Uncle not only taught
them English but also Vietnamese. Employees who were illiterate began begging
Uncle to write letters to their families, and he instantly agreed.
Narrator: To conclude, with current technology learning has never been easier.
Nevertheless, rather than seizing the benefits of this age of science and technology,
students continue to rely more on them, particularly social networks. They only use
them for amusement and occasionally for schoolwork. They had no idea that Uncle
Ho had to acquire French on his own while working as a kitchen assistant. I hope
that this short narrative about Uncle Ho studying French would teach and motivate
everyone to study on their own