Sharing the Wealth

23 Sharing the Wealth Last year, five young students from a very poor part of the country visited our school. It was part of a homestay program. It was very interesting because we learned as much from them as they did from us. One of the students named Ann stayed with my family. She was a great kid, and we got along really well. One thing that was very different for her was our meals. The first night, she could not believe how much food we were eating. She tried and loved everything. One day, my mother was going to give us some soup for lunch. " Where is that can of soup I just bought?" she asked. None of us knew where the soup was. The next day, Mom realized that there were some other tins of food missing. As the week went on, more food went missing. We soon figured out that Ann was taking the food. Was she taking it home for her family? We did not know, but we did not stop her. We felt that it would have been too embarrassing.

On the last day, as we were about to get in the car to go to the airport, my mother said to Ann, “ You forgot this. " It was a big suitcase on wheels. Ann was surprised. It wasn't her suitcase. She opened it, and it was full of food. Ann was so happy that she hugged everyone. She cried, and my mother cried too. When we returned from the airport, my mom asked us, “ What do you want for lunch?" She opened the cupboard door and to her amazement, all the missing cans were back. Ann learned a lesson, and so did we. She learned that it's never right to steal, and we learned that those of us who have a lot must share our wealth. That's the way to make the world a better place.