Mr. Gupta is our next-door neighbor. He is quite elderly and he recently fell and broke his leg. After he got out of the hospital he had to stay in bed for a while. Then he had to learn to walk on crutches. Mr. Gupta’s daughter was working overseas for a while and so he had one to take care of him. Since I was on holiday from school I volunteered to help.
The first thing I had to do every morning was to walk the old man’s dog. I love dogs, but Mr. Gupta’s dog Sheroo is very old and he is very bad tempered. He always growled and snapped at me when I tried to put his lead on. Mr. Gupta said that Sheroo was only playing but I was not so sure. I was scared that he was going to bite me.
After walking Sheroo I had to do some errands for Mr. Gupta. Most days I had to go to the local shop and some groceries for him. He wrote me a list and gave me the money.
Mr. Gupta is a bit mean and often he did not give me enough money. The shopkeeper gave me the things anyway. He said that he would get the money from Mr. Gupta later.
Then I had to do some gardening. Mr. Gupta is very proud of his garden and he likes to keep it neat and tidy. The garden had been neglected while Mr. Gupta was in hospital and there were a great many weeds. I had to pull them out. My back was aching!
Now Mr. Gupta is well again and his daughter has returned. He does not need my help any more. Helping him was very hard work but doing a good deed makes you feel good.
Vocabulary
Growl—to make a rough sound
Groceries—food and small household things
Ache—pain