The Power Of The Example

Dorothy, or Dottie, as she was called, was a lively and intelligent girl, but she had a problem: laziness.

She detested any kind of work, however simple.

Getting up early and going to school was a sacrifice! She would always say that she was tired. She never did her homework and did not study for her exams. So her grades were terrible.

At home she did not like to help at all. If her mother, with affection, asked her to set the table for their meal, she would complain of a headache and not do it. If her mother asked her to sweep the floor, she would answer that she had to study and would go to her room. When her mother needed her to look after her baby brother, Dottie complained irritably:

- I have to do everything in this house!

Dottie had no pleasure in doing anything. In fact, she was only happy when playing, going for walks, watching TV, or sleeping.

Her mother worried about her and tried to help her but to no avail. In her prayers, she always asked God to help her kid because she feared for her daughter's future.

One day, Dottie noticed that the house next door to them, which had been empty for many months, was now occupied. A family had moved in during the night and the girl was curious to meet the new neighbours.

When she returned from school, Dottie saw a boy sitting on a bench in the small garden in front of the house. All smiling, she approached to talk to the boy, glad to have someone else to play with.

- Hello! What is your name? - she said, greeting him.

- Olavo. What about you?

- Dorothy. But everyone calls me Dottie.

The boy was very nice and considerate, and Dottie liked him straight away. In an instant they were conversing like old friends.

And Dottie soon began to complain about life. She complained about school, about her mother, about the household chores, and everything else. Playing the victim game, she said:

- Can you believe it, Olavo? It is not enough to be forced to get up early to go to a boring school, with even more boring classes, but when I come home exhausted I am still expected to help my mother with the household chores! Who can handle it? I'm tired of this life!

Olavo, his eyes opened wide and sparkling, sighed deeply and exclaimed:

- How I envy you, Dottie!

- Why? My life is horrible and monotonous. I hate this life! - said the girl, in disgust.

And Olavo spoke to her sweetly, saying:

- Well, I find your life marvellous!

- Really? - the girl asked.

- That’s true, my friend. I never leave home, or go to school...

- You do not go to school?

- I cannot, Dottie. I'm sick and very weak. I cannot walk like you. I used to have a big, strong friend who would take me to school in his arms but he moved away and I had no one else to help me. My mother cannot carry me. It would be nice if I had a wheelchair but we are poor and still cannot afford one.

Dottie, whose jaw had dropped, stuttered:

- So you cannot play on the street either? Jump rope, play hide and seek, run or skip?

- Nope. But I do not complain.

- What do you do all day? Your life must be very sad.

- Not really. I help my Mom with what I can: I prepare the rice and the beans, wash the vegetables, peel the potatoes, dry the dishes. My friends bring me magazines and books, and I spend hours entertained in reading. Besides, my mother makes crafts to sell and I help her with those. Anyway, I think my life is really good. I know people who have less than I do and whose life is much more difficult.

Dottie looked at him with admiration, feeling ashamed of her complaints. Olavo smiled and added:

- The only thing I miss is going to school. I would like to continue studying. Someday I'm sure I will. So, Dottie, be thankful to God for everything you have: a perfect body to walk and play, intelligence to learn and a loving family.

Dottie said good-bye to her friend with renewed thoughts. When she got home she went straight to the kitchen and kindly said:

- Mom, let me set the table. Later, I'll do the dishes and sweep the floor. And I will take care of the baby too...

Her mother, unaccustomed to all that good will, asked:

- What happened, honey? Are you sick? Got a fever?

Dottie laughed and explained:

- I’m fine, Mom, do not worry. I just had a very interesting meeting.

And after telling her mother the conversation she had had with her new friend Olavo, she concluded:

- Starting today, Mom, I will try to perform my chores with optimism and joy!

As for Olavo, Dottie's parents campaigned and managed to buy him the wheelchair he wanted so badly. In addition, knowing the difficulties of the family, they took the boy to a doctor to try to find, with the help modern medicine, a cure for his predicament.

And soon it was Dottie, satisfied and calm, who spent every morning accompanying Olavo to school, where together they went to study. 

Aunt Celia

Translation:
Johnny Silveira / silveirajohnny@yahoo.com