Jake was a nine-year-old boy of an orphan's home (孤儿院), one of ten children supported by what contributions the home could secure on a continuous struggle. There was very little to eat, but at Christmas there always seemed to be a little more than usual, and the home seemed a little warmer. It was a time for more than usual enjoyment, but more than this, there was an orange.
At Christmas time each child received an orange; the only time of year that such a rare item was provided, and it was coveted (垂涎) by each child like no other thing they ever possessed. They would save it for several days, admiring it, feeling it, loving it, and contemplating the moment when they would eat it. Truly, many of them would wait until New Year's Day or later to eat it.
This Christmas Day, Jake had disobeyed the regulations of the orphan's home in some manner and his punishment was loss of the orange privilege. After a year of waiting for this rare occasion, and this most desired of all rewards, it was to be denied. Jake spent the Christmas Day empty and alone. It even seemed that the other children didn't want to associate with a person who didn't have an orange. Night time arrived and this was the worst time of all for Jake; he could not sleep. Silently, he cried, mostly because he didn't have an orange like the other kids.
A soft hand placed on Jake's shoulder shocked him momentarily and an object was quickly pressed into his hands. The donor disappeared into the dark of the room, leaving Jake with what he did not immediately identify as an orange. Not a regular run-of-the-orange, but one from parts of nine other oranges. Nine other highly prized oranges that would, of necessity, be eaten this day instead of several days hence.
