Chapter3 If You've Never Come假如你不曾來過
假如我的世界你不曾來過，
我的心將如一池靜水，
波瀾不驚；
沒有春的溫馨，
夏的熱烈，
秋的落寞，
更不會滿世界打聽幸福的下落。
佚名 /Anonymous
Mrs. Thompson stood in front of her 5th grade class on the f irst day of school and told them a lie. She said she loved them all the same. She did love most of the students more or less the same-except for one. That exception was a boy named Teddy.
Teddy did not play well with others, his clothes were always messy, and he always needed a bath. He was also failing every test and assignment. It had taken Mrs. Thompson several weeks to review each child's past records. She had put Teddy's off until last.
When she f inally reviewed his f ile, she was surprised. Teddy's f irst grade teacher had written, “Teddy is a bright child. He does his work neatly and has good manners. He is a joy to be around.” His second grade teacher had written, “Teddy is an excellent student who is well liked by his classmates. He is troubled because of his mother's terminal illness.” His third grade teacher had written, “His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show any interest in him.” Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have any friends.” By now, Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper. Teddy's present was clumsily wrapped in a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson opened it. She found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a half empty bottle of perfume. Mrs. Thompson ignored the cruel laughter of the other students and exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was. She put it on and dabbed some perfume on her wrists. After school, Teddy said, “Mrs. Thompson, now you smell just like my mom used to.” From that point on, she decided to quit teaching reading, writing and math. She started teaching children.