22
A
li is a good student in primary school. His teacher and his
friends like him very much. He's always organized, and He
respects his mother, father and those older than himself. But Ali
over-reacts to things that happen to him and worries about things
that have not happened. For example, when there are going to be
exams at school, he's always afraid of getting a bad mark, and
even though he studies hard for them, he worries himself sick. This
often makes it hard for him to concentrate, and sometimes he has
even given wrong answers to the questions he actually knows per-
fectly well. When there is something that Ali cannot do, or when
things don't turn out the way he wants, he quickly becomes filled
with a sense of hopeless sadness. He gets angry with himself when
he wonders why he couldn't do something, or why something did
not turn out right.
One day, while returning home from school, Ali was very happy
and, as always, excited. When he reached his home, his mother
was preparing dinner in the kitchen. He immediately started to tell
his mother what had happened at school.
"Mom," he said excitedly: "We're going on a school
picnic at the week-end. We're going to have good
food, play ball, go hiking, sing songs and play
games. Isn't that great?"
"Yes, Ali, that's very good news," smiled his
mother. "Come now, wash your hands and start your
homework."
