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By May Li

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Words Checked: 3138

Words in Oxford 3000: 94%

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Contents

Chapter 1-A dream……………5

Chapter 2-David’s first friend……13

Chapter 3-Lost………25

Chapter 4-Love……………34

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Summary David Heller grows up in the farmland.

The farmland is located beside the town, in which his dream is built and buried. His childhood is affected and full of emotions. He has no brothers or sisters, and he lives with his parents. They are poor, but they are happy. In an incident, he has an opportunity to make friends. His friend is Jacky. They become good friends. Consequently, he finds he can not believe anyone anymore…

Chapter 1

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A dream

It is early morning. A small sunburnt short

boy with a butch haircut is pulling a cattle on

a muddy path towards the town. His clothing

looks shabby, and he walks barefoot. He is

David Heller. His grandfather died when he

was two years old and left Heller’s family a

good deal of money. His father is the only

male inherit in antique Heller’s family, so his

father has right to own all of the money. After

the heritance, his father bought a big

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cornfield and also lots of animals and was his

farm’s manager. This business had a great

start, so their bank balance was increased

rapidly in a short

period of time.

Then his father

hired many

workers to help the farm business. His

mother was a helpful accountant and now is

an ideal housewife. They built a cottage they

now living near the farmland by the river.

These years, the harvest has been getting

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worse and his father has cut down most of his

workers. Worst, there are rumours that the

government is going to reacquire some acres

abruptly to be their own possession. His

parents talk about it underbreathly; they are

clearly worried. As for him, he is filled with

panic at the thought of having to start

working hardly. He tells his parents he will

not do quantity of the works. They try to

calm him. “Nothing will happen,” they say.

“It is just talk.” He is not reassured. Now,

every morning he needs to carry abundant

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corns or some animals into town to sell,

because there will be a big fair in the town.

You can see lots of different things or odd

merchandise, but the most important is many

successful deals are bargained there. People

bring their goods, find suitable customer, and

to earn money. This method of exchanging

useless items for money is common business

in the town. The town is far away between

the railway line and the mountains.

Sometimes David came back home with a

full cart of corns, but sometimes empty. After

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this tough proceeding, it is afternoon as usual.

There are less and less people staying at the

fair. He starts to go back and fills great coins

in his pocket. He is imaging the smiling on

his parents’ faces when they see his effort.

However, before he goes home he has to pull

the cattle to the grassland near the hillside. It

is the most enjoyable time for David because

he can do something he likes. That is, he can

climb the hillside to see the inside activities

of the school. He loves school! “They look so

happy!” he whispers when he sits down on

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the ground. “They no doubt have fish and

meat which is better than mush to eat.” He

has a great hunger, so he takes out some

sweet potato and corn which are his original

lunch food from his big pocket. He hears the

school bell ring. It is time for the students to

go home. Thousands of students come out of

the buildings. He remembers that he has to

clean the house and help his mother for house

work when he sees the parents picking up

their children. However, it is not important to

him anymore at this time. He moves to sit

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under a banyan tree and decides to take a nap.

He falls asleep. He has a dream. He dreams

he is watching a film which reflects his

family at present. A boy grows up happily

with his lovely parents in a small grange,

which has the smell of wood on the farmland.

“School!” he opens his eyes suddenly while

saying this word. It is night and is dark. He

feels a little scared about the darkness.

Luckily, he sees many fireflies flying around

the shrubs. Fireflies are like little lanterns

bringing him a little warmth and light. He lies

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on the ground and sees a light approaching in

the darkness. It is a lamp’s light under a face.

He is surprised while he finds that his mother

is coming to look for him. “Mom!” he says.

“Why did you know I was here?” His mother

just smiles and carries him on her back stead

of saying a word. “Mom, I’m tired. I want

to …” he yawns and his voice is turned low.

Their shadows shine upon the ground. They

are home.

Chapter 2 David’s first friend

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Ring~ A sudden loud voice comes into his

ears. David wakes up for the alarm. He has

difficulty to opening his eyes because the sun

shines brightly on his bed. He sits up and

looks around his room which is in an attic

above the top of the cottage. He thinks he is

late for today’s work, but soon he notices

today is a holiday. He does not have to pull a

cart of corn to town or pull the cattle to the

grassland during the holiday. He feels relaxed

from his heart. Then, he walks to the window

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and opens the window to look around the

magnificent landscape outside the house. The

soft wind is blowing into his empty room

through the small window. There are many

horses, cattle and sheep wandering over wide

farmland and grass land. Meanwhile, he

hears his mom call from downstairs, “David!

Little honey! Wake up and come to eat

breakfast!” “Ok. Mom. I’m coming soon!” he

replies. He dreams there is a chicken on the

table when he walks down the old stairs

because he dreamed of having a big meal last

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night. Of course there is not, and he forgets

the taste of chicken which he has had before.

He knows it is just a dream and is hard to

fulfill in their living. Even though he feels

happy when his mother says she would like

to take him to the fair and go for window

shopping in the town. On the way to town,

they pass the broad farmland and grassland

with his father working. They

see a few

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workers are feeding animals. “Let’s walk

faster,” his mother says. He knows his mother

pretends not see this scene. After a long walk,

they arrive at the town. It is noon with a hot

sunshine in the sky. There are many vendors

on the street, but they walk passed them

quickly. “Stay here. Don’t run away,” his

mother says stopping in front of a small

vendor which sells hardware. He nods, stands

straight and looks around. Many people walk

passing by him, but no one takes a look at

him. It is common in his days, so he doesn’t

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care. Suddenly, he smells the scent of chicken.

He resists his morality. Should I walk away

or stay here? Finally, he decides to determine

where the scent is coming from. “Sorry,

mom,” he whispers running away. He walks

through one or two streets, and obviously he

sees there is a big store selling chicken. Many

rows of roast chicken are hanging behind the

eaves. A long line of people are waiting to

buy. He stands aside looking at the hanging

chickens. He notices there is a boy who looks

the same age as him is also looking. A

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incredible thing happens, that boy takes a

chicken from the table and hides it in his

book bag. Nobody sees it. Soon, the owner

finds one chicken is missing and gets angry.

He asks the waiting people. There are only

two children. All the people turn to look at

David and at that clean, good-looking and in

uniform boy then back at David, dirty and

poor. “Hey! You bad boy. Where is your

mother?” the owner says to David. “Sir?” he

asks. “You stole my chicken, didn’t you? If

you don’t confess your crime, I will bring

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you to the police. Do you really want me to

do that?” the owner says. “No! It’s not me,”

David shouts back. He has nothing to do with

this. Nobody trusts him. At that time, David’s

mother comes and says, “He’s my son. How

much is the chicken? I will pay.” He can not

see the expression on his mother’s face. The

people around them stop discussing. There

comes a horrible silence, and then the silence

is broken off. Also there is a long silence

between him and his mother. Neither of them

would like to talk first. He ducks his head to

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avoid eye connection.

“Thank you, Mom. I’m really sorry. First, I

should comply with your instruction. Second,

I shouldn’t run away without your permission.

You know…but…Do you believe it was not

me? I mean this incident. It wasn’t my fault,”

he says as quickly as he can.

“That’s all right, honey,” his mother says

slowly and clearly. “I trust you, son. Of

course I believe you. You are my son, aren’t

you?”

“Yes, I am,” he replies loudly.

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“I want to know one thing. Have you seen the

thief? And where is the thief?” his mother

asks.

“Oh, he is just over there,” David directs the

boy. The boy notices they are looking at him,

so he begins to run.

“Stop! Come back and apologize,” David

shouts after the boy. The two young boys run

passing several blocks and that boy suddenly

falls down near a stack of boxes. David

grapples with him and grasps him

successfully at the end. He decides taking the

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boy to his mother. His mother might come

out a punishment to revenge that insult. No

doubt he will be a winner. He begins to sing a

song and turns his head to look at the boy. He

is astonished afterwards, because the boy is

weeping. He tries to comfort the boy, but

what could he say? “Hey, please don’t cry in

front of me. Are you a man? Show me your

brave! And now I should cry but not you.

Why you just look like a victim? You can talk

about who you are or where are you from. Is

that ok with you?” David says mildly. The

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boy makes no response to his questions at

first. When David is attended to give up, the

boy speaks, “Sorry for my actions today. My

name is Jacky. I live in this town, and my

house is in no longer here. I have only one

request. Please don’t send me to the police. If

my parents know about this, they won’t let

me return home. I could not stand it.” David

doesn’t answer. He thinks his mother will

have a better solution. Jacky confesses his

crime and asks forgiveness from David’s

mother. David’s mother nods in agreement.

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David shakes hands with Jacky. After this

especial event, they become friends. This

incident ends with peace.

Chapter 3

Lost

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Visiting Jacky becomes one of his habits

every day. When he has free time, he goes to

the town and plays with Jacky. Days pass, he

knows how wealthy Jacky’s family is and

which great social positions Jacky’s parents

have. What Jacky’s family has is only pie in

the sky to David’s. After several times

returned from Jacky’s gorgeous house, he

starts missing the past rich life he has had.

True, he gets some help from Jacky. For

example, Jacky likes to treat him to a meal in

the restaurant or buys him many books when

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they go to the bookstore. Being with Jacky,

he feels like he goes back to the past. David

believes their friendship will live long, and

also Jacky will be his friend forever. He feels

he is the luckiest person in the world because

he has Jacky as his friend. One night, David’s

mother warns him about his odd attitude to

Jacky these days.

“Honey, I didn’t say Jacky is a bad child or is

not good enough. What I want to tell you is

that you should pay more attention on

people’s real personality. Especially in this

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society, we have no idea what our enemies

are like. Remember we can’t know one’s

personality accurately. Even if someone is

being very nice to you, you can’t lose control

of yourself.”

“I will think about it myself. Good night.

mom,” David says. He understands what his

mother wants to say, meaning he should be

more careful with his friendship. However, he

believes what he thinks of Jacky in his mind.

He decides doing things he likes. It is a bad

day, David looks into the sky. It is grey and

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dark like the mood he has in the past few

days. He discovers that Jacky’s attitude

towards him changes rapidly. For example, if

they have a date tomorrow, Jacky would call

him tonight and say that he wants to cancel it.

He can not take it anymore because this kind

of cancellation happens many times and the

way Jacky react to him has become rude. He

frustrates about that and feels uncomfortable.

Every night he lies on his bed but can not fall

asleep because he wants to know why this

happened on him. Finally, he makes a

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decision. “Tomorrow, I will go to find him,”

he tells himself. The next morning he does

not want to tell anyone about his plan, so he

starts walking towards the town. When he

reaches Jacky’s house, he stands outside of it

and shouts, “Come out, Jacky! Are you an

idiot or a coward?” Nobody answers and the

door is still closed. “Ok. I understand. That’s

your choice!” He turns back home with

disappointment. Suddenly, he hears a loud

laugh come from behind him. He hardly

hides his joy on his face, and then he turns

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around. Behind him are Jacky and Jacky’s

friends! Without a word, Jacky orders the

other boys to beat David up and says

something bad to him. He falls down in the

mud. No passing people stop to help. “It’s not

real. Have I been betrayed?” he thinks with

tears full his eyes. His heart is complete

broken. He sees the other side of humanity.

Consequently, he does not have any repay. He

tiredly walks back home. His parents

understand, but they don’t know how to talk

to him about it. He stays in his room all day

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long, and he relaxes himself by reading books.

He still goes to the bookstore even though he

has no money to buy any books he wants. He

thought, “Should I get money by selling the

books that Jacky gave me before?” Few days

later, he goes to the farmland to help his

father in planting. “Son, you must understand

that your mom and I support you!” his father

says give him a big smile. At that time, the

people of the village walk passed them and

waving their hands to say hello. “You see,

son. There are still good and honest people in

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the world. Don’t suspect people’s original

soul,” pats David on the shoulder. The sun is

shining and their faces are sweating. Then

they work quietly together from dawn till

dusk and prepare to go home. On the way

home, they have to pass some streets. He

smells the flavor which is as good as he had

smelled before in the town. He looks around

again. His sight is attracted to the street

vendor selling books. He walks closer and

hesitates to stop or keep walking. At the

mean time, his father turns the head to the

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back and uses the sleeve to wipe falling tears.

David doesn’t notice that. The moon has risen

as they are walking along the path through

the wood. His mom stands in front of the

door waiting for them to come. There is a

little voice in his head, “Go!” It is the first

time, he waves his hands and runs towards

her.

Chapter 4

Love

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“Today is Christmas!” he looks at the

monthly calendar and says. He sees there is

also a slip of paper on it. “No mush today!”

he reads the words written on the paper and

laughs. It is a perfect morning. His mom has

said that today they will have a big dinner, so

he went to bed with high expectation last

night. He could not sleep well because he

kept thinking how the supper might be. He

dreamed of Santa Claus putting Christmas

gifts in this scruffy sock which hangs on the

empty wall last night, so he jumps down from

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his bed and checks the sock. He gets

disappointed because nothing is there. He

would be satisfied even if there was a candy.

“All right! Start working. Start working,

David,” he shouts and opens the window. The

birds are startled by the noise and fly away

from the wooden roof. He begins to

shuttlecock in front of the wall is like he is

waiting for a miracle. There is a bell from the

faraway church ringing in his ears. He falls

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down by a thing. He looks down on the

ground. “A present,” he shouts. He notices

there is a note sticking to the top of the

present. “To our

honey-David,” he

reads aloud. He is

too impatient to wait. Soon he unties it and

finds it is a book he very much wants. “It’s a

book I saw last night when father and I

walked home.” Now he knows who Santa

Claus is. The book is a good one but not the

cheapest one. He is affected by the kindness.

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“Somebody cares about me…so I’m not

alone. I’m a happy little boy,” he murmurs.

As fast as he can, he goes outside and looks

for his parents. His parents are working on

the farmland. He stands for a long time just

looking at his parents’ backs. He does not

know how long he has stood. He moves his

legs a little and then he rushes into the house

to find something in his room. A box of

books is dropped out from the house, and it

makes a big noise. The dog barks and the cat

jumps. He grasps the book on the bed he got

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this morning and rushes down out of the

house. The wind blows while he is running

towards the farmland. “Dad! Mom!” he calls

out. His parents turn and give him a hug.

Eventually he understands what is the most

important in his life.

David Heller grows up in the farmland.

The farmland is located beside the town, in

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39

which his dream is built and buried. His childhood is affected and full of emotions. He has no brothers or sisters, and he lives with his parents. They are poor, but they are happy. In an incident, he has an opportunity to make friends. His friend is Jacky. They become good friends. Consequently, he finds he can not believe anyone anymore…