Hats in York

Whoosh! The cold wind roared through the trees and between buildings. Winter was on its way. Susan was warm in her house, thinking about an article she’d read at school. The article had been about kids who helped out their communities, and she thought it would be really cool to help her own town, York.

The only problem was that she wasn’t sure how to help. What did her town need a kid to do? In the article, the kids had grown food for people who needed food, but it was winter. She couldn’t start a garden. Susan was still deep in thought when her mom said it was time to go grocery shopping.

As they drove along the road, Susan saw a family walking on the sidewalk, wearing only light jackets. How cold they must be, Susan thought. That gave her an idea! She could help her town, she could collect winter coats, hats, and gloves for people in York who needed them.

She shared her idea with her mom, who thought it was a great idea. But how would they spread the word so that they could get a lot of winter clothing? They decided to call the project “ Hats in York,” and they wrote up a letter explaining the idea that people can drop off their winter clothing in the park to those in need to the families. Her mom asked Susan talk to her teacher, Mrs. Monroe, because then Mrs Monroe could share her idea with her classmates at least.

Sara gazed thoughtfully at her parents while holding a letter. She was accepted to pursue the Electrical Engineering degree programme at University Pertanian Malaysia. All her hard work and sacrifices had paid off. But she knew, being the eldest of 6 siblings, her family could not afford to pay the university entrance fees. Her father was only a settler working on a palm oil estate.

Though she was determined to decline the offer, Sara went to visit Ms. Chang with the letter. Ms. Chang was one of the most dedicated teachers that Sara knew. From a humble beginning, she supported herself at the Teachers’ Training College by teaching tuition. So shed understood how hard poor students struggled to continue their study. For years, not only did she bring reference books to the students, but she often took them out for lunch and assured them they would succeed in life.

“Congratulations Sara, I am so proud of you,” Ms. Chang said excitedly.” But I’m afraid I have to reject the offer, because my family is unable to bear the cost of enrolling me there, “Sara replied in a low tone. Ms. Chang looked at her intently and told her not to worry about finance. There would always be a way.

A few days later, when Sara was hesitating about declining the offer, her high school principal, Mr. Salim, called her to his office. To her astonishment, Mr. Salim handed her an envelope, in which Sara saw a large sum of cash. It was more than what she needed. But when Sara asked Mr. Salim where the money was from, he just told her that the person wanted to remain anonymous(匿名的).

With the money in the envelope, Sara became a freshman of the university. One month later, she received another sum of money. She called her father, ”Dad, you don’t have to send money to me. I can manage on my own. “Her father was stunned,” But I didn’t.“ From then on, Sara received the same sum of money every month. “Who is the kind soul that is making all this contribution?” she was always wondering.

Last Sunday, I went shopping eagerly at the largest shopping mall in my town. My elder sister was accompanying me. As the important Christmas Day was just around the comer the shopping mall was crowded with people.

There were many girls and ladies who were hanging their handbags loosely over their shoulders. I also did likewise. Although my mother always advised me not to bring a handbag, or if I wanted to bring it, I must hang it carefully over my shoulder, I refused to do so. Her advice always fell on deaf ears.

As the shopping mall was having a big sale, I was absorbed entirely in looking at the goods of low prices, especially the clothes with cute little blue ribbons (丝带) which I wanted to buy for a long time. They were offered at the discount of up to 70%! This made me not keep an eye on my loosely-hanging handbag. I was also not aware that it had attracted the attention of a potential thief.

He was creeping (蹑手蹑脚地走) towards me but my eyes were fixed on the clothes and I did not see him. Suddenly, there was a pull on my shoulder. It made me lose the balance of my body and my arms hit the banger of the clothes. Consequently, I had a bad cut. Blood was streaming down from my arm.

After waking up from my shock, I let out a loud scream. “Stop him! My handbag! Thief! Thief!” I shouted in panic and then. I could not even speak a sentence properly. A man heard my cry for help and made a beeline for the escaping thief. The thief quickly ran down the staircase.

The determined man, without thinking, aimed at the thief and jumped towards the thief from the staircase. At the same time the security guards came running and lent him a helping hand. They caught the thief and took him away.

The man, my hero, came towards me.