THE PERFUME

As  she  stood in front of  her
primary 5 class on the very first day of school, she told  the children an
untruth.

Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and
said that she loved them all the same.

However, that was impossible, because there in
the front row, slumped in

his seat, was a little boy named Koko Bassey.

Mrs.Thompson had watched Koko the year before
and noticed that he did not

play well  with  the  other 
children,  that  his clothes were messy and that he

constantly needed a bath. In addition, 
Koko BASSEY could be  unpleasant.

It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would
actually take delight

in  marking  his  papers 
with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and

then putting a big  “F”  at
the top of his papers.

At  the  school where Mrs. Thompson
taught, she was required to review each

child’s past  records and she put Koko’s
off until last. However, when she reviewed

his file, she was in  for a surprise.

Koko’s primary 1 teacher wrote, “Koko is a
bright child with a ready laugh.

He does his work neatly and has good manners…
he is a joy to be around.”

His primary 2 teacher wrote, “Koko is an
excellent pupil, well liked by his

classmates,  but  he  is troubled
because his mother has a terminal illness

and life at home must be a struggle.”

His primary 3 teacher wrote, “His mother’s
death has been hard on

him.  He  tries to do his best, but his
father doesn’t show much

interest  and his home life will soon
affect him if some steps aren’t  taken.”

Koko’s  primary  4  teacher
wrote, “Koko is withdrawn and doesn’t show much

interest in  school. He doesn’t have many
friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By  now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem
and she was ashamed of herself.

She felt  even worse when her pupils
brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in

beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for
Koko’s.

His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy,
brown paper that he got from

a grocery bag. Mrs.  Thompson 
took  pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.

Some of the  children  started 
to  laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with

some of the  stones missing, and a bottle
that was one-quarter full of perfume. But

she stifled  the children’s laughter when
she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet

was putting it on, and dabbing some of the
perfume on her wrist.

Koko  Bassey  stayed  after
school that day just long enough to say,

“Mrs.  Thompson,  today 
you  smelled  just like  my Mom used to.”

After  the children left, she cried for at
least an hour. On that very day,

she quit  teaching reading, writing and
arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach

children.  Mrs.  Thompson  paid
particular attention to Koko. As she worked

with him, his  mind  seemed to come
alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he

responded.

By the end of the year, Koko had become one of
the smartest  children in

the class and, despite her lie that she would
love  all  the  children  the same,

Koko became one of her “teacher’s
pets.”

A  year  later,  she  found
a note under her door, from Koko, telling her that she was

still the best teacher he ever had in his whole
life.

Six years went by before she got another note
from Koko. He then wrote that he had

finished secondary school, third in his
class,and  she  was  still  the best teacher

he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter,
saying that while things had been tough at times,

he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, 
and  would  soon  graduate from the university with the

highest  of  honors.  He assured
Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher

he had ever had in his whole life.

Then  four  more  years 
passed  and  yet another letter came. This time he

explained that after he got his bachelor’s
degree, he decided to go a little further.

The letter  explained  that she was
still the best and favorite teacher he ever

had. But now  his name was a little
longer….The letter was signed, Koko A. Bassey, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was
yet another letter that spring.

Koko said he had met this girl and was going to
be married. He explained that his  father

had died a couple of years ago  and he was
wondering if Mrs. Thompson might  agree to sit at the

wedding  in the place that was usually
reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what?
She wore that bracelet,  the  one with  several rhinestones
missing.

Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the
perfume that  Koko  remembered his mother wearing

on their last Christmas together.They
hugged  each other, and Dr. Bassey whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear,

“Thank you, Mrs.  Thompson 
for  believing  in  me Thank you so much for making me feel
important and

showing me that  I  could make a
difference.”

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered
back. She said, “Koko, you have it  all  wrong.

You were the one  who  taught  me
that  I could make a difference.

I  didn’t know how  to teach
until  I  met  you.”

Warm someone’s heart today. . . pass this
along.  Just try to make a difference in someone’s life today or
tomorrow.  Just  “do  it”. Random acts of kindness, I
think they call it.

Find time to laugh… but not at the weaknesses
of others!

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery,
Today is the present, so let’s call it a Gift!!!

And if you have another few minutes, listen to the Shia Story…