The teacher scolded the boy for being late for class. When he learned the reason, he was very surprised and thanked the boy for being late.
All his life, Leo’s mom had taught him to be kind and helpful, and he never thought that it would get him into trouble. Leo was a sweet boy, and at nine he was unusually responsible and thoughtful.
Unfortunately, Leo was also sometimes easily distracted, and once in a while, he was a few minutes late for school — not every day, but often enough to come to his teacher’s notice.
On that particular Monday, Leo was determined to be on time. He had even left home ten minutes earlier than usual, but fate had other plans for him. As he was preparing to cross the street in front of his house, a lady running in front of him cried out.
She fell, clutching at her ankle and Leo immediately came to her assistance. “Lady, are you alright?” he asked.
The lady sitting on the ground was older than Leo’s mom but just as pretty. She had tears in her eyes, and Leo could see that her ankle was swelling up. “I twisted my ankle,” the woman explained, biting her lips at the pain.
Leo extended his small hand. “Can I help you up?” The woman looked around. People were hurrying by. Some looked curiously at her but walked on by. The only one who had stopped to help was this skinny boy.
“Thank you,” the lady said, and with Leo’s help, she got to her feet. She tried to walk but cried out in pain when she put weight on her injured ankle.
“Wait here,” Leo cried, and he quickly ran to the nearby bodega and asked the owner for some ice. He came back and pressed the icepack to the woman’s ankle. She looked down at the boy kneeling at her feet.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Leo looked up and grinned. “My name is Leonardo, but my friends call me Leo.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Leo, thank you for your help,” she said. With her hand on Leo’s shoulder, she hobbled down the block to a nearby clinic. Leo was relieved to see her in good hands and rushed off to school.
He ran into class just as his teacher was about to hand out a quiz. “Leo!” Mr. Kirk cried, “You’re late AGAIN!”
Parents and teachers should listen to what children have to say before making up their minds.
“Sorry, Mr. Kirk!” Leo cried, “I stopped because…”
“I don’t want to hear excuses, Leo! Sit down please, you’re disrupting the class.” Mr. Kirk said.
After class was over, Mr. Kirk called Leo over. “Leo, it’s time you learned to be responsible. You have detention every afternoon for the next two weeks.”
“But Mr. Kirk…” Leo started, but his teacher interrupted him.
“No excuses, Leo, not another word, or I make it three weeks!”
Leo was very unhappy. Detention meant he would miss baseball practice for two whole weeks… But the next day brought a huge surprise. The headmaster announced an assembly at the school gym after lunch for the whole school.
Leo was sitting on the bleachers with his friends when the headmaster walked in. “Children,” he said, “I’m very proud to say that we have a hero among us. Yesterday one of our students distinguished himself by helping out a lady in distress.
“That lady, Mrs. Dancy, has brought this incident to my attention and she has decided to reward our school and this student with a generous donation that will enable us to build our very own indoor pool!”
The headmaster smiled happily. “I want you to meet our benefactress, Mrs. Dancy.” To Leo’s astonishment, Mrs. Dancy turned out to be the lady with the twisted ankle! She was walking with a cane, but she was looking very happy.
“Leo!” she called, “Please come here!”
Blushing, Leo came down from the bleachers and shyly approached Mrs. Dancy and the headmaster. Mrs. Dancy gave him a hug, the headmaster shook his hand, and the whole school cheered.
They were all heading back to class when Mr. Kirk stopped Leo in the hallway. “Leo, was that why you were late for class? You stopped to help that lady?”
Leo hung his head. “Yes, sir, Mr. Kirk,” he said.
“But why didn’t you tell me?” asked Mr. Kirk.
Leo twisted his fingers together. “You told me you didn’t want to hear excuses, sir…”
Mr. Kirk blushed and drew himself up to his full height. “Well Leo, then I have to apologize to you. I should have listened. No more detention for you!”
Leo ran off to his next class with a big smile on his face. He’d have baseball practice after all!
