Temptation and Surprise: A Vignette

It was seven o’clock in the morning of a cold winter day. Nineteen nine-year-old students were arranged in rectangular tables in a medium-size classroom. The teacher was about to present vocabulary on fruits and vegetables in English to her class through real materials she had brought in a colorful box. Everyone was paying attention, except for a little girl who seemed to be eating something she had in her bag. The teacher did not notice her and began the presentation of the items. After introducing most of the new items, Mrs. Brown put her left hand inside of the box expecting to reach one more object but it was empty. Suddenly, she changed her facial expression and started to move around the classroom as if she were looking for something. Nobody understood what was happening. The teacher stopped behind the little girl and observed that she has the apple that was missing from the box. As soon as the child realized Mrs. Brown had discovered her, she burst into tears. The teacher decided to go with the female student to a corner of the classroom to clarify the situation in private, while the rest of the children were observing the fruits and vegetables on the desk and the words written on the blackboard. The little student confessed the teacher that she had felt tempted by the brilliant colours of the box, opened it, chose a red apple, and hid it in her school bag some minutes before the beginning of the class. They both hugged. Once the lesson finished, the teacher gave all the fruits to the girl who ran happily towards the school entrance.