TEXT
IT'S UNFAIR Jenny was a good girl, but she had one shortcoming. She was often late for school. One morning when she came in late, Mr Black, her teacher, got angry.
"I'll write to your father if you aren't here on time tomorrow," he told her. Jenny didn't want him to do that because her parents were very strict with her.
The next day she got up very early and went to school without breakfast. When the bell rang, she was waiting in her seat. The door opened and the teacher came in. But it wasn't Mr Black. It was Miss Green. Mr Black was ill, so she was taking his class instead. How disappointed Jenny was!
The next morning Jenny got up even earlier. After a quick breakfast she hurried to school. Just before she got to the school gate, she stopped. There was a wallet lying on the ground.
She picked it up. "Whose is this?" she wondered.
As she stood there, she heard the first bell. "What shall I do?" she asked herself. "I'll turn it in first," she decided. And so she did.
When she hurried into her classroom, Mr Black was already beginning his lesson.
"Jenny White," he said as soon as he saw her. "Didn't I tell you to be here on time?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Jenny tried to explaim. "I was late because I had to …"
"I will not listen to any excuse," Mr Black stopped her. "If you can't get here on time, I'll have to write to your father."
"But Mr Black, that's … that's unfair!"
"Unfair! How dare you say that?" Mr Black said angrily. "I'll report you to the headmaster!"
"I was only trying to do a good deed," Jenny thought, "and now …" She couldn't keep back her tears.
As soon as the bell rang for the break, the door opened and in came Mr Smith, the headmaster. He was holding a wallet in his hand. "Excuse me, Mr Black," he said, "but is this wallet yours?"
"Why, yes. It is mine." Mr Black was surprised. "I didn't know I lost it."
"One of our girls found it and turned it in just before school started," Mr Smith said.
"Oh? Who was it?" Mr Black asked. "I must thank her."
"It was Jenny White."
Mr Black's face slowly turned red. He looked at Jenny and said, "I'm very sorry, Jenny. I take back what I said."
"And I'm sorry, Mr Black, I'll try not to be late again," Jenny said.
At page 37, 38, 39, 48, 49, 50, Book 4, The English Textbooks Series for Junior Secondary School (The 1st Edition, Published by the People's Educations Press, May 1983)
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