You see an old woman stumbling. She falls on the footpath. Do you run to help her or pretend not to have seen her? If you run to help her, you are doing the right thing. Your heart tells you what is right. You need not wait for your elders to tell you what to do. It is a story about doing the right thing.

Hans lived in a village in Holland. One day he walked along the road that led to the next village. This road ran by the sea. There was a high wall between the sea and the land. This special wall called the dyke. The dyke protected the village from flooding when the sea rose.

In the evening, as he was walking back home, dark clouds began gathering in the sky. Soon it began to rain. When he reached the dyke, it was raining heavily. Suddenly Hans saw sea water gushing on to the road through a crack in the dyke. He knew that this was dangerous. If the crack got wider, water would flood the village and the fields.

Hans was wet and cold. He wanted to go home. As there was no one else around, he knew ha had to do something to save the village. He tried to cover the crack with his palm. The force of the water pushed his hand again and again. He then stuffed some leaves and twigs from a tree into the crack and held them firmly with his hands. Now the water could not rush in.

After some time Hans grew tired. His arms ached. But he did not give up. He held on till the villagers came looking for him. Hans was hero to the villages because he had saved the village.

Understand

Very often, doing the right thing is difficult. It might seem easier not to do it, especially when we have not been told to do it. But we have a duty to over selves and to others. Often, to do the right thing, we might have to make a difficult choice.

You might be going to buy an ice ream when a poor woman asks you for money to buy medicines for her child. You know that the medicine is more important than the ice cream. So you give the money to the woman. You have made the right choice!

You can do the right thing if you understand what is fair. When you do the right thing you make others happy. In their happiness you will find joy.