James's Mittens
by David He
Winter was on
the way and the weather got colder and colder.
James, a foreign teacher who had come to work in
China, began to get out his warm clothes. Even
though he felt warm in his new clothing, his
hands still went red with the cold.
One freezing
afternoon I dropped in on James. He sat on the
sofa, looking very excited. When I approached him,
I saw him repairing a new pair of gloves, to be
more exact, a pair of mittens. He was trying to
get a loose woollen thread tight.
“Hi, what
beautiful mittens!” I said. “Where did
you get them?”
“From
England.” James replied, smiling. “A
friend sent them to me.”
“How do
you like them?” I joked. “Warm?”
“Very!”
he said.
A few days
later, I went to see him again. He was in bed,
admiring his mittens. “Mr. He, look at my
gloves.” he said as he turned them upside
down. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“Sure.”
I smiled.
“Good.”
James responded in a satisfying way. “As
beautiful as her heart.” Then he kissed them.
Later one
evening I went to tell him that there was a
parcel for him. He was on the phone, speaking
excitedly.
“Who are
you speaking to now?” I asked James.
“Annie,
my friend.” he replied, with the phone away
from his mouth.
“Is she
the girl whose picture you showed me when you
came here?” I asked him.
“Yes.”
“Is she
the girl who sent you the mittens?” I
further asked.
“Yes.”
James looked very excited. “Would you like
to speak to her?”
“Yes, I
will.” I really didn’t want to lose the
chance to practice my spoken English.
“Hello,
Mr. He.” said Annie as soon as the receiver
touched my ear. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to
meet you too.” I responded. “What good
mittens you knitted!”
“Thank
you.” she replied.
“ What
made you want to knit the mittens for James ?”
I asked.
“As you
know, we are good friends.” she explained.
“I know him very well. When winter comes,
the first thing he will buy are gloves.”
“So you
remembered to buy the mittens and sent them to
James?” I asked.
“Yes, I
remembered that he would need gloves so I learned
how to knit them for him.” Annie tried to
make it clear. “Since I didn’t know how
to knit fingers, I knitted them into mittens.”
“They are
even warmer!” James put in.
Another few
days later, I went to see James again. He was
sitting there, quiet.
“Hi,
James.” I shouted at him. “You look a
bit glum today.”
“I am
sorry, Mr. He, but I lost my gloves today.”
He raised his eyes.
“What?”
I was a little surprised. “The ones Annie
knitted for you?”
“Yes.”
he replied very slowly.
“How did
that happen?” I really wanted to know the
reason.
“It
happened like this.” James began to tell the
story. “This morning I cycled along the
river. Soon an old bridge came into my sight. I
decided to take a picture of it. So I had to take
one of my mittens off to load the film. After
that, I could not find it any where. I felt very
upset. I returned with only one glove on.”
“I am
sorry to hear that, James.” I tried to make
him forget it. “One is better than none. You
could keep it as a souvenir.”
“But now
I don’t have any, Mr. He.” he continued.
“Why?”
I asked puzzled. “You said you had lost only
one.”
“Yes, you
are right,” he explained, “but halfway
back I changed my mind.”
“What did you do then?” I became more
interested.
“Suddenly
I remembered that one glove would not do any good.
So I went back to the bridge and put the other
there so that someone could keep both hands warm
if he should find the whole pair.” said
James.
“Good
idea!” I praised him. “But what would
Annie think?”
“If she
forgives me,” James smiled, “she will
support me.”
Now he was
back, tired and thirsty, he poured himself a
glass of water and then sat down to drink it.
Without thinking, he put his hand into his pocket.
“Oh, God!” he screamed. “What is
that?”
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