A SILVER DOLLAR IN EACH SHOE

Last week in class we showed a short video clip of Gordon B. Hinckley telling a story his father told him years earlier. It was the story of two boys walking down a country road, and seeing a pair of old shoes belonging to the farmer working in the field, one boy suggests they hide the shoes. They would hide themselves and watch the farmer’s despair when he returns from the field and can’t find his shoes. The other boy suggested instead, that they place a silver dollar in each shoe, then hide themselves and watch the poor farmer’s reaction. The story is very moving and at its conclusion, we asked our students to write about a time in their lives when someone showed them an act of kindness or when they did something kind for someone else. Here is the movie clip and some student responses:




After I saw this little movie, I feel deeply moved. Like an ant can carry much bigger things than itself, small things sometimes really make a difference. This story also reminds me of one story. It was in a mid-autumn day when I was late for school and wandering, crying along the street hopelessly. I missed the last bus and I couldn’t go to school nor could I turn back home. Just then, a motor driver came up. After realizing my situation, he drove me to my school without any charge. I felt thankful. So do not forget any mercy when you meet someone in trouble, that’s what he teaches me in my life.

When I was a freshman I was in the hospital one winter day. Staying in the bed and far from the place where my parents were, I felt rather discouraged. However, the next day several students in my class went to see me. That moment I felt very warm despite the cold weather.

(Note: Chinese high school students spend their entire senior year preparing for the college entrance exam. If they fail it, they must repeat their senior year and try again one year later. This exam is so important to their future, many students have told me their aunts, uncles, cousins gather at the house to await the exam score results.)

When I failed the college entrance exam, I felt the end of the world had drawn near. My sky was full of black clouds. My Chinese teacher came to our house to comfort me patiently and encouraged me to try again and give myself another chance. I’m touched by her kindness.

I took part in the college entrance exam twice. At the first time, I failed. In that summer holiday, I felt very sad and hopeless. I thought I can’t continue my studies. I felt so upset that I didn’t want to talk with my parents, even my friends. Then my teacher came to my home and had a long talk with me. He said he knew my feelings. He encouraged me to study one more year to take part in the exam next year. He also gave me some examples on the students who like me, succeed in the next year’s exam. He gave me courage. Thanks for his encouragement and patience.

(Note: When the Chinese need to go to the doctor or to the hospital, they must pay cash before they can receive any medical help.)
When I was a senior high school student, I played basketball with my classmates. One classmate fell down on the ground and he was injured in the face near the right eye. We soon sent him to the hospital and I rode the bike rapidly to the dormitory to get money. Then I gave money to the hospital for the doctor to give a small surgery. Before his father arrived at school, he was resting in the dormitory.

(Note: There is no free public education. Parents must pay for their child’s education.)
When I saw a small child about seven or eight years old begging for money in a street. I thought that a child like him should be sitting in the classroom and have many foods to eat. What a pathetic thing! So I gave him some money. Than I thought to myself, when I was very young my family had a difficult time. I experienced the same as the poor one, so I know it’s hard for the child.

Many years ago I together with my mom lead a miserable life. At that time, we even can’t afford the cost of food. My mom is a hard-working woman who is my god. She sold ice along the street in a hot summer, the sun made her clothes all wet. But she just insisted in doing so. When she entered a middle school to sell the ice, she lost all her money. She knew the money was very important for us, even just a few yuan. She was very worried. Then a boy gave her money. My mom showed her thanks to the boy. Thank you good boy, you are great. I will remember your helpful action forever!

Last summer I went to the market with my mom. The market was crowded and dirty, just like a grocery, it sold vegetables, fruits, meat and so on. Many poor farmers sold vegetables with a low income. And suddenly we heard an old woman crying. She cried so sadly that a lot of people were curious about her. Just because a false paper of money. She got a false money of 20 RMB. (About $3) I went to her place, and gave 20 RMB to her for sympathy. It was just a little sum of money for me but a lot for her.

My grandpa always watches weather predictions and makes a phone call to me to tell me to put on or get off clothes, even though this thing is small and easy, and I tell him thousands of times don’t call me. I’ll know the weather by myself when the weather changes, but he still calls me to inform me of that. Through this little thing, I can feel the great love from him to me.

When I was a pupil, I had a good friend who had a poor family. One day we had an exam. However, if you didn’t have a ruler you couldn’t finish the exam. Unfortunately, I left my ruler home. When I was frustrated and disappointed, my friend broke his ruler into two parts and gave one of them to me. On that moment I was moved, and I understood what was real friendship.

When I was a little boy, I had heard about the story of my grandpa’s childhood. He was a beggar when he was a little boy during the Second World War. So he was very kind to beggars later when he was older. I was deeply influenced. I remembered that when I was only eight years old. One day a beggar came to my home for something to eat. Of course, my grandpa gave him some bread and a little money. After that, I went to the kitchen room and got some more bread to give the beggar, although the beggar had gone some distance away.

The first time I returned home since I became a high school student, I didn’t know where the bus station was so I had to walk home at night. When I was on the road, it was raining. I didn’t know the time. The only thing I knew was that it was at night and almost no cars were on the road. Thus, it was a quiet, rainy night. Suddenly, I heard someone behind me calling me. After I turned around, I saw a man who rode a bicycle. He asked me why I was walking lonely at night without an umbrella. I said I was returning home. So he pick me up and rode me on his bike for a long distance (almost ten miles!) with saying nothing. After that, I had never saw him again. But I can still remember him for helping other with knowing nothing about them. It’s a memorable thing which dates back to my high school.

One day when I was playing basketball with my classmates, I put my wallet on the ground. It included whole month’s daily life expense. When we finished playing, I forgot to take it until I went to my dormitory. I rushed there, but back there was nothing. I got very gloomy and walked slowly to the dormitory. When I went home my surprise was that my wallet was on the desk. My roommate told me that someone found it and returned it back. I was so grateful to the man who I don’t know even now.

Last New Year holiday when I stepped out of the railway station in Shang gieu, a boy stopped me and asked me for 10 RMB (about $1.25) He told me he lived in the nearby country and needed a bus ticket which would cost 15 RMB but he had only 5 RMB. And this is the first time he had left home and he was desperate to see his mother. I had only 12 RMB and that was for my ticket. I gave him the money and took a taxi home. It cost my father 150 RMB. (about $20) When my father asked why I did this I said, “I believed the boy.”