Eat First

The boy came into the nurse's room. He looked pale.

“What's wrong?” the nurse asked.

“I feel sick,” he said. “And my tooth hurts.”

The nurse looked at his tooth. “Have you got any pain now?”

“A little. And I'm hungry. And thirsty.”

“When did you last eat?”

The boy looked at his shoes. “Yesterday. I had no money for lunch today.”

The nurse said nothing. She opened her bag and gave him an apple and some water.

“This is not the hospital,” she said. “But eat first. Then we'll talk about your tooth.”

He took the apple. “Thank you,” he said. For the first time, he smiled.