Tom had a book in his hand and tears in his eyes. "What worries you, Tom?" asked Mrs. White.
"Our teacher asked us to recite the poem Little Jim. I don't think I can do it well." said Tom.
"Why not?" asked Mrs. White.
"The boys said that I can't." said Tom in a sad voice.
"Don't mind what they said. Let them see that you can do it." said Mrs. White.
"I don't think I can." said Tom. "The poem is so long and difficult for me. But I want to try my best to recite it."
"Well, dear son." said Mrs. White, "Look at that snail (蜗牛) on the wall. How slow it is! Watch it. You will see it get to the top at last. So just try a few lines each day, and you may recite it in the end."
Tom thought he could catch up with the boys, and he might run a race with the snail. So he planned to try it.
At last, the day came. The teacher called up the boys to recite the poem. After six boys had recited it, it was Tom's turn. Most of the boys thought Tom could fail. But to their surprise, Tom did not miss a word. His heart was full of joy when the teacher said, "Well done, Tom!" After the rest of the class had tried, the teacher said Tom did best.
"And now tell us how you could recite the poem so well." said the teacher.
"A snail on the wall taught me how to do it." said Tom.
There was a loud laugh when Tom said this. But the teacher said, "Don't laugh! ◆▲ How did the snail teach you, Tom?"
"I saw it climb up the wall bit by bit. It didn't stop. At last, it climbed to the top. And I thought I could do the same. So I recited it bit by bit, and did not give up." said Tom.
"Well done, Tom!" said the teacher. "Now boys, let us give a good cheer to Tom and the s nail on the wall." The classroom rang with a great cheer.
