I love to read. But mum can’t buy me a book. She said, ‘Finished this mathematics exercise book. Then I’ ll buy you story books. The exercise book has too many pages!! Cause it mixed with year 4,5,6… So, I decided, while doing the exercise, I will borrow some books from the school library! actually, I want to share a chapter of a book named, Happy Days! Shuffle The Shoemaker by Enid Blyton.. So, here it goes..
Ma shuffle was polishing her kitchen stove and listening to little Shuffle talking to Mrs Whine-A-Bit. ‘It’s downright kind of you to mend my shoes so quickly, little Shuffle,’ said Mrs Whine-A-Bit. ‘ And for nothing too, because I’m so poor. Now I wonder what can I give to you in return. I’ve no eggs to give you. And, dear me, there’s no more lettuce in my garden I can offer you. And –’
‘Ma! you tell her that we don’t want anything for a bit of kindness.’ Called little Shuffle. Ma turned around and looked with her sharp eyes at Mrs Whine-A-Bit. ‘We don’t want anything,’ she said. ‘But a bit of kindness should never be wasted, Mrs Whine-A-Bit. you know that as well as I do. If you can’t return it to one who gives it to you, well pass it on.’
‘That’s right,’ said shuffle. ‘You should either return it or pass it on. Good morning to you, Mrs Whine-A-Bit.’ The customer went out with her shoes. Ma Shuffle laughed. ‘Do her good to pass on a bit of kindness instead of her whines!’ she said.’I wonder if she’ll remember.’
Well, Mrs Whine-A-Bit did remember. She met Mr Tuck-In, stalking along looking very grand indeed. Just as he passed her he dropped his purse. it fell open and his money rolled everywhere. Mr Tuck-In was fat and he did’ nt like stooping. Mrs Whine-A-Bit was pleased to think she could pass on the bit kindness so soon. She hurried to pick up the money, and gave it to Mr Tuck-In .
‘Thank you, my good woman. very kind of you,’ he said. He felt his purse for a piece of money to give to Mrs Whine-A-bit. ‘ No,thank you, Mr Tuck-in,’ she said. ‘It was a very small kindness I did you. Don’t pay me for it. Just pass it on!’
She went down the road, delighted with herself. Mr Tuck-In was surprised. He went home and find his wife trying to patch up an old bonnet. he told her about Mrs Whine-A-Bit, and how she had told him to pass on the little kindness.
‘Well!’ said Mrs Tuck-In, her eyes shining, ‘pass it on to me, my love-I do so badly want a new hat!’ Mr Tuck-In was just going to say something rude about new hats when he stopped. That would be passing on a bit of unkindness- most unlucky. So he smiled pleasantly and nodded. ‘Yes. you go and get a new hat, my dear!’ ‘Oh, you generous man!’ cried Mrs Tuck-In, and flung her arms around him. ‘What can I do for you in return?’ ‘Nothing, nothing,’ said Mr Tuck-in rather grandly. ‘it’s a very small piece of kindness, my love-just pass it on!’
Mrs Tuck-In hurried to the hat shop, looking for someone to pass on the kindness to before she forgot. She only met one person, and that was old Mr Tappit with his stick. He was standing a the the kerb trembling as he always did when he wanted to cross the road. Mrs Tuck-In hurried to him She took his arm and guided him safely across.
‘Now that’s kind of you,’ said old Tappit, surprised. ‘you come along to my house and I ‘ll give you the biggest lettuce you ever saw.’ ‘I haven’t time,’ said Mrs Tuck-In . ‘So just you pass on the bit kindness instead, Mr Tappit. Don’t forget!’
Well, Mt Tappit wasn’t used to doing kindnesses of any sort and he couldn’t for the life of him think what to do. So he did the easiest thing he could-he went up to a small child pressing her nose against a toy shop window and gave her twenty pence. ‘Go and buy a toy.’ he said, and felt surprised at tne nice warm feeling that came inside him. ‘Oh, Mr Tappit, thank you! Shall I come and weed your garden for you – or take your dog for a walk?’ said the little girl.
‘no,no. I ‘ll whisper in your ear what to so,’ said Mr Tappit. ‘There’s a little chain of kindness going about now – pass it on, will you, and don’t break the chain!’ The little girl didn’ t buy a toy. She remembered Mrs Clang, the blacksmith’ s wife, who was ill. ‘Twenty pence would buy an enormous bunch of yellow daffodils!’ said the little girl to herself, and she skipped over to the flower shop.
Mrs Clang would have cried for joy when she saw the yellow daffodils. ‘Why, they make me feel better already!’ she said. ‘The flowers, and your bit of kindness! you come along when I’m better and I ‘ll make you a chocolate cake.’ ‘No, Mrs Clang,’ said the child. ‘This bit of kindness has got to be passed on. So you pass it on to someone else, then we shan’t break the chain.’
Mrs Clang worried about that when the little girl had gone. How could anyone in bed pass on a bit of kindness? At last she called her husband and showed him the daffodils. ‘look there,’ she said. ‘little Mary-Lou brought these, the kind little thing. And it’s a bit of kindness I want to passed on. But how can I do that while I’m lying ill in bed? You pass for me instead, will you?’ ‘Right.’ said big Mr Clang,and he sat down and thought hard. What could he do? He suddenly smacked his hand down on the bed.
‘Ah! that’s it, of course! I ‘ll pop over to ,Ma Shuffles. The chain of her well is broken, and she and little Shuffle can’t get it mended. They have to go to the end of the lane for water each day, the poor things. I can mend it for them in a jiffy. ‘
And so, to Ma Shuffle’s great surprise, there was Mr Clang out in her backyard mending the chain of her well bucket. What a wonderful thing! ‘No charge Ma, no charge at all!’ called Mr Clang . ‘just passing on a bit kindness that seems to be floating around!’
Ma Shuffle looked at her little Shuffle. her eyes shone. ‘ Do you know, I wouldn’t be surprise if that’s your bit of kindness come back to you. ’she said.’ Well,’ said little shuffle at once. ‘we’ll keep it going , Ma- we’ll pass it on!’
-The End-
