Far far away in a land by a bay, 

was a small village full of people 

who could never seem to behave.

In the streets, people shouted

and in homes children pouted.

Strangers argued and families bickered.

I want to make this village a better place one step at a time!

He told himself, "I want to make this village a better place one step at a time!"

But there was one little boy

who wanted the village to change.

One day, his wish was granted. An wise old man walked up to him and asked, “What is troubling you my boy?”

“My village is never happy,” he said. “Everyone is always sad and angry. I don’t know what to do!”

The wise old man replied, “I will teach you how to make this village a peaceful place. Come with me and you will learn the Five Virtues of Confucianism.” 

And so, Sam followed the wise old man down to the village square. 

How can I be kind?

Just as they arrived into the village the old man said, “Our first lesson of today is Ren. Ren means to be kind to everyone” (Stefon). 

“How can I be kind?” asked Sam. 

“You must know how others feel and always help those in need,” replied the wise old man.

Sam looked around for someone to help. By a corner, he saw a little boy with tears streaming down his face.

   I'll help you find it!

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked. 

Sobbing, the little boy said, “My toy train is gone!”

Sam remembered when he lost his teddy bear. All he felt was sadness as he cried for days. 

“This must be what this little boy feels like too,” he thought.

“I’ll help you find it!” he exclaimed to the boy.

   There it is!

Sam looked everywhere for the toy train. 

Was it under a table? On a tree? Sitting on a rock?

At last, he found it in a bush. 

“Here you go,” he said, giving it to the boy.

The little boy beamed as he wiped away his tears and ran off shouting, “This is the best day ever! Thank you!”

Seeing the happiness of others from his kindness made Sam smile.

“The next lesson we must learn is Yi,” said the wise old man. 

“What is Yi?”

“Yi,” he explained, “means to do the right thing even if you get nothing in return” (Takigami). 

The old man pointed to a woman whose money just fell out of her pocket. She did not know what had happened and did not stop to pick it up. “What is the right thing to do?” asked the wise old man. 

Sam thought for a moment, imagining himself taking the cash and using it to buy something for himself in the toy store.

“No,” he told himself, “that is not the right thing to do.”

Picking up the money from the floor, he returned it to the woman. 

Taking the money, the woman thanked the boy and went on with her day.

The wise old man smiled. “It looks like you learned Zhi all by yourself!”

Surprised, Sam asked, “How?!”

“Zhi is knowing what is right and what is wrong. Being able to tell what is good from what is bad is called wisdom” (Takigami).

“That’s right,” said Sam happily. “I knew that giving the money back was a good thing to do instead of taking the money for myself!”

Just as the sun began to set, the wise old man began his last lesson of the day. 

“Li is how you act towards others. How you behave is decided by your age and status. To have a peaceful society, everyone must act the right way” (Yu).

“Like how a servant acts differently from a king?” asked Sam.

The wise old man nodded. “From Li, I want you to learn something very important. It is known as filial piety.”

Sam sat and listened to the old wise man. 

“Family is the most important thing in filial piety. Good families create peaceful villages. In filial piety, you must show your parents that you care by showing respect and obedience” (Chen).

   You've been good today!

When Sam returned home, he was excited to show his parents the lessons he learnt from Li.  Listening to his parents, Sam did everything he was told. He washed the dishes, folded his clothes, and even cleaned his room. 

“You’ve been very good today,” said his mother.

That night, Sam felt proud of himself.