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Transcript of Home
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Contents
Chapter 1-A dream……………5
Chapter 2-David’s first friend……13
Chapter 3-Lost………25
Chapter 4-Love……………34
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Summary David Heller grows up in the farmland.
The farmland is located beside the town, in which his dream is built and buried. His childhood is affected and full of emotions. He has no brothers or sisters, and he lives with his parents. They are poor, but they are happy. In an incident, he has an opportunity to make friends. His friend is Jacky. They become good friends. Consequently, he finds he can not believe anyone anymore…
Chapter 1
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A dream
It is early morning. A small sunburnt short
boy with a butch haircut is pulling a cattle on
a muddy path towards the town. His clothing
looks shabby, and he walks barefoot. He is
David Heller. His grandfather died when he
was two years old and left Heller’s family a
good deal of money. His father is the only
male inherit in antique Heller’s family, so his
father has right to own all of the money. After
the heritance, his father bought a big
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cornfield and also lots of animals and was his
farm’s manager. This business had a great
start, so their bank balance was increased
rapidly in a short
period of time.
Then his father
hired many
workers to help the farm business. His
mother was a helpful accountant and now is
an ideal housewife. They built a cottage they
now living near the farmland by the river.
These years, the harvest has been getting
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worse and his father has cut down most of his
workers. Worst, there are rumours that the
government is going to reacquire some acres
abruptly to be their own possession. His
parents talk about it underbreathly; they are
clearly worried. As for him, he is filled with
panic at the thought of having to start
working hardly. He tells his parents he will
not do quantity of the works. They try to
calm him. “Nothing will happen,” they say.
“It is just talk.” He is not reassured. Now,
every morning he needs to carry abundant
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corns or some animals into town to sell,
because there will be a big fair in the town.
You can see lots of different things or odd
merchandise, but the most important is many
successful deals are bargained there. People
bring their goods, find suitable customer, and
to earn money. This method of exchanging
useless items for money is common business
in the town. The town is far away between
the railway line and the mountains.
Sometimes David came back home with a
full cart of corns, but sometimes empty. After
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this tough proceeding, it is afternoon as usual.
There are less and less people staying at the
fair. He starts to go back and fills great coins
in his pocket. He is imaging the smiling on
his parents’ faces when they see his effort.
However, before he goes home he has to pull
the cattle to the grassland near the hillside. It
is the most enjoyable time for David because
he can do something he likes. That is, he can
climb the hillside to see the inside activities
of the school. He loves school! “They look so
happy!” he whispers when he sits down on
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the ground. “They no doubt have fish and
meat which is better than mush to eat.” He
has a great hunger, so he takes out some
sweet potato and corn which are his original
lunch food from his big pocket. He hears the
school bell ring. It is time for the students to
go home. Thousands of students come out of
the buildings. He remembers that he has to
clean the house and help his mother for house
work when he sees the parents picking up
their children. However, it is not important to
him anymore at this time. He moves to sit
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under a banyan tree and decides to take a nap.
He falls asleep. He has a dream. He dreams
he is watching a film which reflects his
family at present. A boy grows up happily
with his lovely parents in a small grange,
which has the smell of wood on the farmland.
“School!” he opens his eyes suddenly while
saying this word. It is night and is dark. He
feels a little scared about the darkness.
Luckily, he sees many fireflies flying around
the shrubs. Fireflies are like little lanterns
bringing him a little warmth and light. He lies
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on the ground and sees a light approaching in
the darkness. It is a lamp’s light under a face.
He is surprised while he finds that his mother
is coming to look for him. “Mom!” he says.
“Why did you know I was here?” His mother
just smiles and carries him on her back stead
of saying a word. “Mom, I’m tired. I want
to …” he yawns and his voice is turned low.
Their shadows shine upon the ground. They
are home.
Chapter 2 David’s first friend
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Ring~ A sudden loud voice comes into his
ears. David wakes up for the alarm. He has
difficulty to opening his eyes because the sun
shines brightly on his bed. He sits up and
looks around his room which is in an attic
above the top of the cottage. He thinks he is
late for today’s work, but soon he notices
today is a holiday. He does not have to pull a
cart of corn to town or pull the cattle to the
grassland during the holiday. He feels relaxed
from his heart. Then, he walks to the window
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and opens the window to look around the
magnificent landscape outside the house. The
soft wind is blowing into his empty room
through the small window. There are many
horses, cattle and sheep wandering over wide
farmland and grass land. Meanwhile, he
hears his mom call from downstairs, “David!
Little honey! Wake up and come to eat
breakfast!” “Ok. Mom. I’m coming soon!” he
replies. He dreams there is a chicken on the
table when he walks down the old stairs
because he dreamed of having a big meal last
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night. Of course there is not, and he forgets
the taste of chicken which he has had before.
He knows it is just a dream and is hard to
fulfill in their living. Even though he feels
happy when his mother says she would like
to take him to the fair and go for window
shopping in the town. On the way to town,
they pass the broad farmland and grassland
with his father working. They
see a few
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workers are feeding animals. “Let’s walk
faster,” his mother says. He knows his mother
pretends not see this scene. After a long walk,
they arrive at the town. It is noon with a hot
sunshine in the sky. There are many vendors
on the street, but they walk passed them
quickly. “Stay here. Don’t run away,” his
mother says stopping in front of a small
vendor which sells hardware. He nods, stands
straight and looks around. Many people walk
passing by him, but no one takes a look at
him. It is common in his days, so he doesn’t
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care. Suddenly, he smells the scent of chicken.
He resists his morality. Should I walk away
or stay here? Finally, he decides to determine
where the scent is coming from. “Sorry,
mom,” he whispers running away. He walks
through one or two streets, and obviously he
sees there is a big store selling chicken. Many
rows of roast chicken are hanging behind the
eaves. A long line of people are waiting to
buy. He stands aside looking at the hanging
chickens. He notices there is a boy who looks
the same age as him is also looking. A
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incredible thing happens, that boy takes a
chicken from the table and hides it in his
book bag. Nobody sees it. Soon, the owner
finds one chicken is missing and gets angry.
He asks the waiting people. There are only
two children. All the people turn to look at
David and at that clean, good-looking and in
uniform boy then back at David, dirty and
poor. “Hey! You bad boy. Where is your
mother?” the owner says to David. “Sir?” he
asks. “You stole my chicken, didn’t you? If
you don’t confess your crime, I will bring
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you to the police. Do you really want me to
do that?” the owner says. “No! It’s not me,”
David shouts back. He has nothing to do with
this. Nobody trusts him. At that time, David’s
mother comes and says, “He’s my son. How
much is the chicken? I will pay.” He can not
see the expression on his mother’s face. The
people around them stop discussing. There
comes a horrible silence, and then the silence
is broken off. Also there is a long silence
between him and his mother. Neither of them
would like to talk first. He ducks his head to
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avoid eye connection.
“Thank you, Mom. I’m really sorry. First, I
should comply with your instruction. Second,
I shouldn’t run away without your permission.
You know…but…Do you believe it was not
me? I mean this incident. It wasn’t my fault,”
he says as quickly as he can.
“That’s all right, honey,” his mother says
slowly and clearly. “I trust you, son. Of
course I believe you. You are my son, aren’t
you?”
“Yes, I am,” he replies loudly.
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“I want to know one thing. Have you seen the
thief? And where is the thief?” his mother
asks.
“Oh, he is just over there,” David directs the
boy. The boy notices they are looking at him,
so he begins to run.
“Stop! Come back and apologize,” David
shouts after the boy. The two young boys run
passing several blocks and that boy suddenly
falls down near a stack of boxes. David
grapples with him and grasps him
successfully at the end. He decides taking the
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boy to his mother. His mother might come
out a punishment to revenge that insult. No
doubt he will be a winner. He begins to sing a
song and turns his head to look at the boy. He
is astonished afterwards, because the boy is
weeping. He tries to comfort the boy, but
what could he say? “Hey, please don’t cry in
front of me. Are you a man? Show me your
brave! And now I should cry but not you.
Why you just look like a victim? You can talk
about who you are or where are you from. Is
that ok with you?” David says mildly. The
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boy makes no response to his questions at
first. When David is attended to give up, the
boy speaks, “Sorry for my actions today. My
name is Jacky. I live in this town, and my
house is in no longer here. I have only one
request. Please don’t send me to the police. If
my parents know about this, they won’t let
me return home. I could not stand it.” David
doesn’t answer. He thinks his mother will
have a better solution. Jacky confesses his
crime and asks forgiveness from David’s
mother. David’s mother nods in agreement.
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David shakes hands with Jacky. After this
especial event, they become friends. This
incident ends with peace.
Chapter 3
Lost
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Visiting Jacky becomes one of his habits
every day. When he has free time, he goes to
the town and plays with Jacky. Days pass, he
knows how wealthy Jacky’s family is and
which great social positions Jacky’s parents
have. What Jacky’s family has is only pie in
the sky to David’s. After several times
returned from Jacky’s gorgeous house, he
starts missing the past rich life he has had.
True, he gets some help from Jacky. For
example, Jacky likes to treat him to a meal in
the restaurant or buys him many books when
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they go to the bookstore. Being with Jacky,
he feels like he goes back to the past. David
believes their friendship will live long, and
also Jacky will be his friend forever. He feels
he is the luckiest person in the world because
he has Jacky as his friend. One night, David’s
mother warns him about his odd attitude to
Jacky these days.
“Honey, I didn’t say Jacky is a bad child or is
not good enough. What I want to tell you is
that you should pay more attention on
people’s real personality. Especially in this
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society, we have no idea what our enemies
are like. Remember we can’t know one’s
personality accurately. Even if someone is
being very nice to you, you can’t lose control
of yourself.”
“I will think about it myself. Good night.
mom,” David says. He understands what his
mother wants to say, meaning he should be
more careful with his friendship. However, he
believes what he thinks of Jacky in his mind.
He decides doing things he likes. It is a bad
day, David looks into the sky. It is grey and
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dark like the mood he has in the past few
days. He discovers that Jacky’s attitude
towards him changes rapidly. For example, if
they have a date tomorrow, Jacky would call
him tonight and say that he wants to cancel it.
He can not take it anymore because this kind
of cancellation happens many times and the
way Jacky react to him has become rude. He
frustrates about that and feels uncomfortable.
Every night he lies on his bed but can not fall
asleep because he wants to know why this
happened on him. Finally, he makes a
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decision. “Tomorrow, I will go to find him,”
he tells himself. The next morning he does
not want to tell anyone about his plan, so he
starts walking towards the town. When he
reaches Jacky’s house, he stands outside of it
and shouts, “Come out, Jacky! Are you an
idiot or a coward?” Nobody answers and the
door is still closed. “Ok. I understand. That’s
your choice!” He turns back home with
disappointment. Suddenly, he hears a loud
laugh come from behind him. He hardly
hides his joy on his face, and then he turns
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around. Behind him are Jacky and Jacky’s
friends! Without a word, Jacky orders the
other boys to beat David up and says
something bad to him. He falls down in the
mud. No passing people stop to help. “It’s not
real. Have I been betrayed?” he thinks with
tears full his eyes. His heart is complete
broken. He sees the other side of humanity.
Consequently, he does not have any repay. He
tiredly walks back home. His parents
understand, but they don’t know how to talk
to him about it. He stays in his room all day
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long, and he relaxes himself by reading books.
He still goes to the bookstore even though he
has no money to buy any books he wants. He
thought, “Should I get money by selling the
books that Jacky gave me before?” Few days
later, he goes to the farmland to help his
father in planting. “Son, you must understand
that your mom and I support you!” his father
says give him a big smile. At that time, the
people of the village walk passed them and
waving their hands to say hello. “You see,
son. There are still good and honest people in
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the world. Don’t suspect people’s original
soul,” pats David on the shoulder. The sun is
shining and their faces are sweating. Then
they work quietly together from dawn till
dusk and prepare to go home. On the way
home, they have to pass some streets. He
smells the flavor which is as good as he had
smelled before in the town. He looks around
again. His sight is attracted to the street
vendor selling books. He walks closer and
hesitates to stop or keep walking. At the
mean time, his father turns the head to the
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back and uses the sleeve to wipe falling tears.
David doesn’t notice that. The moon has risen
as they are walking along the path through
the wood. His mom stands in front of the
door waiting for them to come. There is a
little voice in his head, “Go!” It is the first
time, he waves his hands and runs towards
her.
Chapter 4
Love
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“Today is Christmas!” he looks at the
monthly calendar and says. He sees there is
also a slip of paper on it. “No mush today!”
he reads the words written on the paper and
laughs. It is a perfect morning. His mom has
said that today they will have a big dinner, so
he went to bed with high expectation last
night. He could not sleep well because he
kept thinking how the supper might be. He
dreamed of Santa Claus putting Christmas
gifts in this scruffy sock which hangs on the
empty wall last night, so he jumps down from
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his bed and checks the sock. He gets
disappointed because nothing is there. He
would be satisfied even if there was a candy.
“All right! Start working. Start working,
David,” he shouts and opens the window. The
birds are startled by the noise and fly away
from the wooden roof. He begins to
shuttlecock in front of the wall is like he is
waiting for a miracle. There is a bell from the
faraway church ringing in his ears. He falls
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down by a thing. He looks down on the
ground. “A present,” he shouts. He notices
there is a note sticking to the top of the
present. “To our
honey-David,” he
reads aloud. He is
too impatient to wait. Soon he unties it and
finds it is a book he very much wants. “It’s a
book I saw last night when father and I
walked home.” Now he knows who Santa
Claus is. The book is a good one but not the
cheapest one. He is affected by the kindness.
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“Somebody cares about me…so I’m not
alone. I’m a happy little boy,” he murmurs.
As fast as he can, he goes outside and looks
for his parents. His parents are working on
the farmland. He stands for a long time just
looking at his parents’ backs. He does not
know how long he has stood. He moves his
legs a little and then he rushes into the house
to find something in his room. A box of
books is dropped out from the house, and it
makes a big noise. The dog barks and the cat
jumps. He grasps the book on the bed he got
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this morning and rushes down out of the
house. The wind blows while he is running
towards the farmland. “Dad! Mom!” he calls
out. His parents turn and give him a hug.
Eventually he understands what is the most
important in his life.
David Heller grows up in the farmland.
The farmland is located beside the town, in
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39
which his dream is built and buried. His childhood is affected and full of emotions. He has no brothers or sisters, and he lives with his parents. They are poor, but they are happy. In an incident, he has an opportunity to make friends. His friend is Jacky. They become good friends. Consequently, he finds he can not believe anyone anymore…