Switching Methods to Cut an Apple - A Collection of Stories About Teenagers' Multi-Angle Thinking

Author: Huang Xiao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: It is a story that took place in an orphanage in Vietnam. Due to the fierce bombing of airplanes, a bomb was dropped into the orphanage, killing several children and a staff member, while others were injured. Among them, a little girl lost a lot of blood and was severely wounded! Fortunately, soon after, a medical team arrived here. The team consisted of only two people: a female doctor and a female nurse. The female doctor quickly performed first aid, but there was a problem with the little girl. Because the little girl had lost a lot of blood, she needed a blood transfusion, but there was no available plasma among the limited medical supplies they brought. So, the doctor decided to improvise. She tested the blood of everyone present and finally found that several children had the same blood type as the little girl. However, another problem arose because both the doctor and the nurse only knew a little Vietnamese and English, while the staff and children at the orphanage only understood Vietnamese. Thus, the female doctor tried her best to communicate in Vietnamese, supplemented by a lot of gestures, telling the children, "Your friend is very injured. She needs blood. She needs you to donate blood for her!" Finally, the children nodded, as if they understood, but their eyes still held a trace of fear! The children remained silent, none of them raising their hands to volunteer to donate blood! The doctor was not expecting this outcome and was stunned. Why wouldn’t they donate blood to save their friend? Did they not understand what she had said just now? Suddenly, a small hand slowly rose, but halfway up, it was lowered again. After a while, it rose again and did not come down! The doctor was very happy and immediately took the little boy to the makeshift operating room, laying him on the bed. The little boy lay stiffly on the bed, watching the needle slowly insert into his small arm, watching his blood being drawn bit by bit. Tears unknowingly flowed down his cheeks. The doctor asked nervously if the needle had hurt him, but he shook his head, yet the tears still did not stop. The doctor began to feel a bit panicked because she felt she must have made a mistake somewhere, but where? The needle couldn’t have hurt the child! At a critical moment, a Vietnamese nurse arrived at the orphanage. The female doctor explained the situation to the Vietnamese nurse. The Vietnamese nurse quickly lowered herself and spoke to the child lying on the bed. Soon after, the child broke into tears of joy. It turned out that the children had misunderstood the doctor’s words, thinking she wanted to drain all their blood to save the little girl. The thought of dying soon made the little boy cry! The doctor finally understood why no one had volunteered to donate blood earlier! But then she had another question that puzzled her. "If they thought donating blood meant they would die, why did he still volunteer to donate?" The doctor asked the Vietnamese nurse. So, the Vietnamese nurse asked the little boy in Vietnamese, and the boy answered quickly, without hesitation. He said, "Because she is my best friend!" The answer was simple, just a few words, but it moved everyone present.
Perspective One: This is not a child’s careless promise; it is a human being’s most selfless and purest vow. Reading the story, we seem to see the boy’s sincere and bright eyes as he spoke, and the tears the doctor had to hold back in her eyes. In fact, anyone with a conscience cannot help but be moved by this emotion, this situation, these words, and this action. After reading the story, we can feel the boy’s genuine human affection and the most beautiful love in the world. We are reminded to cleanse our numb hearts because, in the end, emotion and love are the most beautiful things in the world. If people living in the world cannot feel this with their hearts, then let more people read this story, whether to promote this love or to allow more people to experience a spiritual awakening. Heartfelt stories should be shared more widely. This is the responsibility of educators.
Perspective Two: I once heard another story as well. A girl was hit by a car on the road and lost a lot of blood, needing emergency blood transfusion to save her life. However, her blood type was rare, and the hospital’s blood bank had no reserves. It was too late to request blood from another city. Coincidentally, a surgeon at the hospital had the same blood type, but he refused to donate blood, citing his own anemia. As a result, the girl died because she did not receive the blood in time. Dramatically, it was later revealed that the girl was actually his own biological daughter. Later, the surgeon was abandoned by everyone. While we regret the girl’s death and are heartbroken by the surgeon’s actions, we can’t help but feel sad about the moral decline of some people in reality. Today, how many people are willing to consider others before themselves in the face of death, and how many are willing to share their lives with others after being reborn? Look at the people and events around us. How many people truly believe that friendship is more valuable than their own lives? Don’t even mention life—how many people would give up their own interests for friendship? For profit, some people even treat their friends as a bargaining chip or a tool! Perhaps, in the face of this child, we really should reflect! Ask yourself honestly: If my friend really needs help, would I give everything I have to them? True friendship is not based on mutual benefits or selfish desires but on caring for and cherishing one’s friends. In Homer’s epics, the value and status of friendship were far greater than they are today. Achilles was heartbroken after his dear friend Patroclus died in battle: "What joy can there be for me now? My dearest companion is no more!" A friend is half of oneself, and friendship gives life joy and meaning. P027-029