Wang Weisen

It was Friday afternoon and I was on my way home. When I got to a neighboring village, I caught sight of the school bus waiting by the road, which reminded me that it was time for Robert to be dismissed from school. I braked and stopped.

As expected, just a few minutes later, a group of children came rushing from the north and Robert was among them, with a schoolbag on his back and another small plastic bag in his right hand.

“Hi, Bob,” I shouted as he approached.

Hearing his name called, he looked up and started to run.

He got on my bike. On the way we talked. Suddenly the 10-year-old let out a sigh, which confused and surprised me. I asked what was the matter. But he made no response.

One or two minutes passed, and then he said, “I cannot skip rope; I cannot ride a bike either.”

Then the third grader told me that in his P.E. class he and his classmates were learning to skip rope but he could not do it well.

I comforted and encouraged him, saying that we can do anything well if we really try.

The moment we got home, he started to skip rope.

“Will you learn to ride?” I asked at about 5:20 p.m.

“Yes,” he answered readily.

Happily he wheeled the bike onto the drive.

“Will you try staying on the pedal with your left foot?”

With these words I took the bike and showed him how to keep balance on the bike. Then he started to practice on his own. To my surprise, he could stay on the bike although he was somewhat clumsy at first.

Robert practiced; I watched. It was getting dark and we went home.

The boy seemed pleased, for in the past few days he had tried keeping both feet on the pedals while riding, with me supporting the bike, but in vain.

“When will I be able to ride?” This question he asked many times these days.

On Saturday morning, I suggested Robert learn to ride the moment he got up. He put his left foot on the pedal and pushed the bike forward with the right one as he did the day before.

After one or two minutes, I asked him to put the right foot on the pedal too. He obeyed. He succeeded. The bicycle was moving forward, Robert on the seat!

“I can ride!” the 10-year-old shouted excitedly when he rode back to me.

I felt elated too, and I took some pictures of Robert riding on the bike with my mobile phone. The dream that he could ride came true at last.

“I feel very excited,” said the boy. He went on to practice for another several rounds until his face was covered with sweat.

“To learn to ride a bike is so easy,” he said as we went home. Obviously, he gained confidence in himself, which was exactly my purpose of helping him learn it.

While he was washing his hands for lunch, I noticed a bruise on his right hand. When asked when he bruised, he said he did not know. While learning, he fell quite a few times.

On Sunday morning he woke up earlier than usual and went out to ride. This morning he learned to turn right or left, a new trick he mastered.

After lunch he rode for another few minutes before he was asked to take a nap.