Arnold and the Lost Purse

The summer holidays were long for Cho Oo and Arnold. They had to stay with their father at the jetty and care for him. The boys didn’t enjoy staying with their father because he was still drinking. They couldn’t stop him, even though they knew the alcohol was killing him.

Besides, people at jetty were always teasing them. They called them "holy boys" because they prayed before they ate and before they went to bed. They called them "aliens" because they didn’t eat pork or fish without scales. They called them "little bottles" because their father always drank. They called them "Mr. SDAs" because they kept the Sabbath.

Every day Cho Oo and Arnold counted the days until the opening date of school. They really wanted to come back to the school, but their father didn’t let them yet.

Every morning when the boat arrived at the jetty, Arnold would go up to the boat and collect the bottles that were left behind and sell them for his pocket money. One day as Arnold walked around at the crowded jetty gate, with his sharp eyes he noticed something that no one else did. A black purse!

He took it and rushed to his sleeping place. When he opened it, he found two golden necklaces! "Oh!" Arnold said. "I have never seen anything like this before." These two golden necklaces were worth about $600, a huge amount in Myanmar currency.

Arnold recalled his teacher’s voice in class: "Do not steal." So Arnold was curious to know who owned the purse. He wanted to find the owner and return it. He hid the purse where no one saw it. Then he went to the place where he had found it.

This time he noticed a woman who was seriously searching for something. Arnold approached her and asked, "Aunty, what are you looking for?"

She replied, "I am looking for my purse. I don’t know where I dropped it. Could you please help me find my purse?"

Arnold asked, "What is the color?"

"Black!"

"What’s inside?" he continued.

"Two golden necklaces," she whispered.

Arnold said, "Wait here. I will bring it to you right now." He returned with the black purse and handed it to the woman.

The news spread like wildfire. "Arnold really is an honest student. He is not a thief like he was before. He has really changed after attending the Adventist school." The police and jetty manager congratulated him, and he received 10,000 kyats ($10) from the owner as a gift.

From that day on, no one dared to tease Arnold and his brother or call them names. It was obvious that they had changed.

Epilogue:

Sadly, Cho Oo and Arnold’s father died a few weeks ago as a result of the illness brought on by his drinking. The two boys are still attending Ayeyarwady Adventist Seminary, where they are doing well in their studies.