礼貌的代价 - Courtesy Pays

文琳从她妈妈那里拿走一块蛋糕咬了一大口说：“好吃！蓝莓蛋糕是我最爱的！”

妈妈说：“你忘了说什么？”

文琳抬头看了一下说：“喔…谢谢。”

妈妈回答：“不客气。”同时拿了一块给文庆。

正当文庆拿起刀叉要开始吃的时候，爸爸皱着眉头看他。他赶紧补上说：“嗯……谢谢。”

妈妈微笑着说：“不客气，我希望你们两个注意礼貌，我喜欢听到你们两个主动讲请和谢谢。礼貌很重要。”

吃完晚餐文庆跑了出去，就在街角和正面跑过来的凯翔相撞了。生气的文庆起身准备要打凯翔时。凯翔说：“对不起！我不是故意要撞你的，你没事吧？”

文庆听到道歉之后就点点头说：“我没事，要一起玩吗？”

凯翔同意说：“好啊。”

文琳出门的时候，两个男孩玩的很开心。文琳说：“我这里有四块饼干，你们一人可以拿一块。”当她给凯翔的时候，凯翔有礼貌的说了谢谢。她给了她弟弟文庆的时候提醒他说：“文庆你应该说什么？”

文庆抱怨说：“我要说你很自私只给我们一块，而你却有两块。”

凯翔说：“你应该感谢她给你一块的，她原本可以不用给你的。”

文庆抱怨说：“是不错，但是她还是有两块啊。” 

凯翔提醒他：“可是她原本有四块。”

文琳给了凯翔另外一块饼干说：“凯翔这个给你，我喜欢有礼貌的你。”文琳看到凯翔惊讶的表情就笑了说：“我听我爸说我们要彼此体恤，意思就是要有礼貌。”

文庆自言自语的说：“我们知道那是什么意思，但我想爸爸是对的，有礼貌让我没跟凯翔打架，可以一起玩还可以多拿饼干！”

给力好儿童！你是个有礼貌的人吗？会不会当你遇到没有礼貌的人，你特别难表现得有礼貌呢？别忘了，不管在家或在外面，礼貌是很重要的。

"Yum! Blueberry! My favorite!" Kim took the plate with a piece of pie from her mother and took a big bite.

"Kimberly?" Mom's voice had a question in it.

Kim looked up. "Oh . . . thank you," she mumbled.

"You're welcome," Mom replied as she handed Matt his piece.

As Matt picked up his fork and started eating, he noticed his father's frown. "Uh-h-h . . . thanks," muttered Matt.

"You're welcome, too." Mom sighed. "I wish you two would remember your manners. I'd like to hear the words please and thank you without having to ask for them. They're very important."

After dinner, Matt had just gone outside when Jon, a neighbor, ran around the corner of the house and crashed into him. Angry and ready to fight, Matt glared at him. "Sorry!" exclaimed Jon. "I didn't mean to run you down, Matt. You okay?"

Hearing the apology, Matt nodded. "I'm fine," he said. "Want to take turns on the swing?"

"Sure," Jon agreed.

The boys were having fun when Kim came out. "I've got four pieces of candy," she said. "You can each have one if you want." She gave Jon a piece and smiled when he thanked her. She handed a piece to her brother. "What do you say, Matt?" she asked importantly.

"I say you're selfish to give us just one piece and keep two pieces for yourself," complained Matt.

"You should thank her for giving you a piece," said Jon. "She didn't have to."

"Yeah, but she's got two," grumbled Matt.

"She had four before she shared," Jon reminded him.

Kim handed Jon the extra piece of candy. "This is for you, Jon," she said. "I like you. You're polite." He looked surprised, and Kim grinned. "I've heard Dad say it pays to be courteous," she added. "That means to be polite."

"We know what it means," muttered Matt, "but I guess Dad's right. Good manners saved Jon from a fight, and it got him some turns on the swing and two pieces of candy!"

Do you practice good manners? Is it especially hard to be polite when others are not? Don’t forget—good manners are as important at home as they are in other places.   

Courtesy of http://global.keysforkids.org/transcript/588/english/. Used with permission.