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Carminha arrived
home, threw her
backpack on the
couch, and went
to the kitchen.
- Hello daughter!
Are you hungry?
Your father is
due to arrive
and I will be
serving lunch
soon. Please
grab Tiago, he
is playing in
the backyard,
and help him to
wash his hands.
Against his will,
Carminha brought
Tiago to the
bathroom, washed
his hands and
then returned,
sitting him by
her side.
The father
arrived home
smiling and soon
the whole family
was united
around the table.
After the prayer,
the mother
served the
children.
- How was your
day? The mother
asked Carminha,
noticing her bad
mood.
- Terrible! -
Muttered the
girl.
- What happenned?
- Asked the
father.
The girl bursted:
I can not stand
my class anymore
Dad. The
students are
always fighting,
arguing and do
not obey the
teacher. There
is so much noise
that sometimes I
can not even
hear what the
teacher says!
The parents
looked at each
other, worried
- Have you tried
to talk and
reach an
agreement? -
Asked the mother.
- The teacher
has tried
evertything,
with no results.
- Well, usually
the disorder is
caused by few
students. Do not
worry. For
everything there
is a solution.
Let's have lunch
in peace.
After lunch
Carminha helped
her mother to
clean the
kitchen. Then
the lady took
flour, eggs and
milk, putting
them on the
table.
- What are you
doing, Mommy? -
Asked the girl
curiously.
- I will bake
bread, my dear.
Would you like
to help? |
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— Sure, Mommy.
The mother put
the flour in a
bowl, added eggs,
a little bit of
salt and sugar.
Then, heated a
mug of milk, and
added a pinch of
an extra
ingredient that
was unknown to
Carminha
- What is it,
Mama?
- It's yeast,
dear
- Ah ... And why
do you need
yeast?
- For the bread
to grow soft and
smooth.
- But it's a
pinch! Is this
bit of yeast
enough?
- Yes, it is
enough. You'll
see.
They finished
mixing the
ingredients and
the mother left
the dough in the
bowl, covering
it with a napkin.
- Now we wait
for the dough to
rise and
afterwards we
will put it in
the oven.
Carminha went to
her room and was
reading a
storybook. Later
on, her mother
called when the
dough was ready.
The girl was
surprised to see
how the dough
has grown. It
was so big that
was almost
falling out of
the bowl!
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The mother
showed her how
to make a bread
roll and placed
it in a pan.
When everything
was ready, she
put them in the
oven.
Short after, a
delicious smell
of baking bread
spreaded through
the house.
Carminha went to
the kitchen when
her mother was
removing the pan
from the oven.
The rolls were
baked and
beautiful!
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They
looked very
tasty! |
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The girl did not
resist. The
mother took a
roll, put some
butter and
handed it to her
daughter.
- The smell is
delicious, Mama.
See how the
butter melts...
- So good, Mom!
It is great. How
come so little
yeast make it
grow like this?
I do not
understand!
- Yes, my dear.
It is how yeast
works! Jesus
also spoke about
it when he said
that kingdom of
heaven is like
yeast that we
add to the dough
and make it grow.
So are the
examples we give
during our life.
When we give a
good example and
demonstrate the
correct behavior,
people around us
will eventually
act like us.
Carminha thought
for a moment and
said:
- Got it. It
means that we
can be like the
yeast and make
the dough grows,
doesn’t it?
- That's right.
The girl's eyes
sparkled with
enthusiasm
- Mom! I know
how to change my
class. In fact,
when my
colleagues start
fighting among
themselves, I
usually join the
discussion as
well. Now I know
that this is not
the right
attitude. My
attitude was
also bad.
She paused for a
moment and
considered:
- I never
thought that
baking bread
could teach me
so much!
From that day
onwards the
situation
changed in her
class.
Carminha has
changed her
behavior: now
she was calm and
balanced,
helping the
teacher to
pacify the
students.
Gradually, the
majority of
students adopted
a good behavior
which obliged
the difficult
ones to change
as well, since
no one was
supporting their
bad behaviour
anymore.
After this
achievement,
Carminha adopted
this concept to
all areas of
ther life.
She always says:
- I never
thought that
learning to bake
bread was so
important!
(Message from
Meimei, received
by Celia Xavier
de Camargo, on
25/10/2005.)
Aunt Celia
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