Kevin Montes

Ms. Wilson-Scott

Poor Pablo

            Once upon a time there was a small boy named Pablo who was raised in the poor streets of Timbuktu. His family never had any money. His parents and their parents never were lucky enough to find a fortune of any sort. They tried hard every day to earn enough money to just eat and get through the day. Pablo never felt bad about it until he went to school.

 On the first day of school, the teacher gave him a list of all the things he was going to need to buy that year. It included binders, pencils, paper, sharpener, makers and many more school objects. He realized that his parents did not have enough money to pay for the things that he needed. He began to feel sad, but thought that he could figure a way out of it.

Later in the day the teacher announced to the class that the entire class would go on a field trip and need to pay for the trip by the end of the week. Pablo began to feel down again. But before he began to feel down he believed that he could find a way out of it.

During recess, his classmates started talking about the field trip and were saying all the things they wanted to do. Then they turned to Pablo and asked him,

“What do you plan on doing?"

            He didn't know what to say, because he didn't want everyone to know that he was poor. He just said, "Well I don't think I'm going to go on the trip.”

"But why? It will be so fun, you cannot miss it, what's the problem?" everyone asked.

Pablo looked down at the ground and waited a few seconds before responding with a sad tone in his voice, "It's just that I don't have any money. My family is poor. I don't even have a pencil to with, or even paper to write on."

No one said anything for a long time and came together to think. As they walked back to class everyone was whispering to one another and looking back and forth at Pablo.

Pablo went home very sad after school. The only thing he could think about was the money that his family didn't have. As he was walking home, he began to cry. He felt that at that moment he was the saddest kid in the world. He had never felt this bad in his life. Never until now had money been a problem. Right before he walked into his small house, he tried his best to whip away his tears.

The first thing his parents said when they looked at him was, "How was your first day at school, Sweet Spirit?" with really big smiles on their faces.

Pablo said nothing. He just nodded and went to his room. His parents knew right away that something was obviously wrong. Pablo stayed in his room and only came out to eat the small dinner that his parents made for him. After dinner he went straight back to his room and lay on his bed, wishing that somehow his parents could become rich.

            While he was sleeping, Pablo's Guardian Angel come through his window and woke him up.

"Pablo. Wake up, I need to tell you something very important."

Pablo woke up in amazement. He had to rub his eyes for a couple of minutes before believing what he was seeing. "What do you need to tell me?" he finally asked.

"If you have a problem such as being poor, do no just lay on your bed everyday and be sad about. You must think of simple thing that you are able to do that will help you."

"But I'm just a kid. I can't do anything. I'm too small,” said Pablo with his head slightly facing down.

          "All you need to do is figure out how you can make the best of what you have. Be patient and look for opportunities to use your skills."

Then without saying anything else, the angel flew back out of Pablo's room and into the night sky. Pablo was left confused and wasn't quiet sure of what to think. He sat there in his bed and just thought for a long time, thought and thought. But as time went by he grew sleepier and eventually fell asleep.

The next day on his way to school, he came across an old lady who was having trouble trying to get something from underneath her car. Pablo stopped by her side and asked if he could help in any kind of way. She then said, "Well you seem to be rather small, maybe you can help me get my lipstick."

            Pablo then got on his knees and crawled slowly under the car until he reached the lipstick, wrapped his hand around it tightly and crawled back out. The lady was so happy when she saw Pablo with the lipstick that she reached into her bag and handed him five dollars! Pablo was in complete shock. "But what is this for?" he asked.

            “You did a very good deed young man, which is why I’m rewarding you with this money. Here take it.” And she handed him the five, and he tucked it away safely in his pocket.

            As he kept walking to school he came across a couple that had their heads in a small gutter tunnel. He stopped by them and asked, “Why are you guys looking into that gutter?”

            The young man got up and said, “I accidentally dropped our wedding ring and I can not lose it. It means a lot to me.”

            Pablo then got on his knees and managed to crawl into the small gutter. He crawled for a couple of seconds when his hand felt the ring. He gripped it tightly and then carefully crawled back out. When he came out the couple was so delighted that that they gave Pablo ten dollars! Pablo was so happy, he gracefully said thank you, tucked the ten in his pocket and ran to school. He now had enough money to pay for the field trip! Now he understood what his angel had said. From this point forward he always looked for new opportunities to help others by using his skills. He never felt bad again about his size or being poor, because he knew he would always find a way to pay for what he needed.