E24

Paperman

      Once upon a time, there was a busy city filled with countless people. However, there was a person who was different from all of them. His name was Paperman.
      Like his name, Paperman was made of paper! He had his two ears covered with white paper. His two black eyes were indescribably tiny. He didn’t wear any clothes, as his body was made of paper. Even his long, pointy shoes were made of paper! However, there was a serious problem. Paperman didn’t have a mouth, so he couldn’t talk!
      One day, Paperman went outside to take a walk on the streets as usual. All of a sudden, he heard a crying sound coming from the end of the street. Out of curiosity, he went to investigate. A girl was crying as she tried to wipe away her tears, but she couldn’t. Her tears kept falling like an endless waterfall. She sobbed loudly, ‘Oh no! My paper plane is broken! I don’t have any paper left to make another one!' Paperman, who didn’t allow himself to let her stay miserable and do nothing about it, came up with a brilliant idea. He immediately picked off one of his own sheets of paper and used his hands to fold a plane for her. She had a huge smile and jumped up and down as she exclaimed gratefully, ‘Thank you so much!’ Paperman thought It’s good to see someone so happy.
      Then, as Paperman continued to walk, he soon met a student. The student looked devastated, with a massive, disappointed expression on his face. He frowned and muttered sadly, ‘Max’s test result is so good, but mine is so bad.’ The student let out a huge sigh and said to himself, ‘I didn’t even pass the test.’ Hearing this, Paperman used another piece of his paper and wrote: ‘Don’t compare yourself with others; just try harder next time.’ Paperman’s message cheered the student up, as his disappointed expression began to disappear. ‘Thanks,’ he said to Paperman. Paperman thought, ‘Cheering people up makes me feel delightful too.’
      Abruptly, there was a big, black cloud that covered the whole sky. The sky turned dark, and the sound of thunder was louder than a roaring lion. ‘Oh no! It’s about to rain! Water can destroy me! What should I do?’ Paperman panicked and was frightened. His heart was pounding fast, and his eyes shone with worry. It rained a second later, but none of the raindrops hit him since the people in the town used their umbrellas to cover him! One person said, ‘Not only do you comfort and encourage us with kind words all the time, but you also help us when we are in need. It’s time for us to help you this time.’ Paperman’s heart felt so warm even though the weather was extremely cold. He held back his tears that were glazing in his eyes as people guided him home with umbrellas. Feeling moved, Paperman thought silently, ‘I guess that’s how it feels to be helped.’
      In this town, people always felt joyful and encouraged thanks to Paperman. Paperman always felt loved and cared for thanks to the people. Like every story does, they lived happily ever after.

 

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