A man in Pakistan is now working to help children get an education. When he was a child, he did not go to school because he was too poor.

    It is reported that Pakistan has 25 million children who do not go to school. That is the second ­highest number in the world. Only Nigeria has more. Many Pakistani children must work to support their families.

    Mohammad Ayub was once one of those children. He is now a firefighter. He also manages a small school. VOA recently visited the school in the capital Islamabad.

    Ayub started with just one student in 1982. He saw a boy cleaning cars for days. He asked him, "Why don't you go to school?" The boy answered that his parents were dead and he had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters.

    Ayub was also an orphan and he, too, had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters. He said, "When my father died, everyone who came to the funeral said they were sorry, but no one helped." He sold newspapers and did other work to earn enough money to pay school fees for his brothers and sisters.

    Ayub wanted to help the young boy who washed cars, but he did not have enough money to pay the boy's school fees.

    Today, Ayub teaches many children at his school in a public park. Some of the children attend other schools in the morning, but come to Ayub in the afternoon to get help with their homework.

    Ayub has helped a large number of poor children since he began teaching. Many of them come from very poor areas near the park.

    Ayub said," I used to argue with kids who worked ' Why are you washing someone's dishes or their clothes? Why don't you study? ' "

    One of the children he advised to attend classes was Farhat Abbas. Ayub found him working with his friends about 12 years ago. "He followed us back home. He told our parents he wanted to teach us and asked them to send us to his school, "Abbas said.

    Today, Abbas is taking classes at a college and is helping Ayub.

    Many children are out of school, and those who do attend classes often get a poor education. Information gathered by an organization shows half of all Pakistani children in the 5th grade do not understand basic mathematics and cannot read a story in their language.

    A group in Islamabad reports Pakistan spends less on education than any other country in South Asia.

    Mr Gao lives in a town. When he was twenty-five, his son was born. He called him Gao Ling. The little boy is very clever and his parents love him very much.

    It's September 1 today. A new school year begins. Gao Ling is happy and wears his most beautiful clothes. He's going to school with his new bag.

    "Let me take you to school today, dear," says Mrs Gao.

    "Thank you, Mum," says the boy. "The school is not far from here. I can walk there myself."

    At school a teacher meets the little boy and asks, "What's your name, my little friend?"

    "Gao Ling, sir," answers the boy.

    "How old are you?"

    "Six, sir."

    "What's your father's name?"

    "Gao Dalin, sir."

    "How old is he?"

    "He's six too, sir."

    "Oh," he says in surprise. "Is he as old as you?"

    "Yes, sir." says the boy. "He became a father at the time when I was born."

How The Little Kite Learned To Fly?

    By Katherine Pyle

    "I never can do it." the little kite said,

    As he looked at the others high over his head.

    "I know I should fall if I tried to fly."

    "Try, "said the big kite." only try!

    Or I fear you never will learn at all."

    But the little kite said: "I'm afraid I'll fall,"

    The big kite said: "Ah, well, good-bye;

    I am off." And he rose towards the sky

    Then the little kite's paper stirred(微动)

    And he shook himself free for flight

    First whirling(回旋) and scared，then bravery grown,

    Up, up he rose through the air alone,

    While far below he could see the ground,

    And the boys like small ants moving round.

    "I'm going to make a time capsule(胶囊)," Anna told her parents at the breakfast table.

    Dad looked up from his coffee cup and smiled. "Sounds interesting."

    "Dad, I'm building a time capsule – it's like a memory box. I watched my teacher dig one up from our school yard yesterday. Some students buried(埋) the capsule thirty years ago. It had a lot of old things in it, so we could see what life was like back then."

    After breakfast, Anna looked around in the garden and found an old coffee can. What should she put in the can?

    With her cat Kitty following close behind, Anna looked through her things. She grabbed her favorite book, her yo-yo and some photos. She put them in the can. She pulled off her watch and placed it in the can too. 

    "What else should I put into it?" she asked Kitty.

    "Meow." Kitty pushed a ball toward the can.

    "Sure, Kitty, I'll include your ball." Anna put Kitty's ball in the can.

    Anna put the top on and closed the can. On the front, she wrote ANNA AND KITTY'S TIME CAPSULE and then buried it in the garden. "All done," she told Kitty.

    After a few minutes, Anna sighed. What should she do next? She couldn't yo-yo. Or read her favorite book. She'd buried those. Now, she missed them.

    "Meow." Kitty looked at her.

    "Do you miss your ball?" Anna asked. "Don't worry. I'll get it for you." So Anna dug up their time capsule.

    Kitty pounced on the ball. And Anna pulled on her watch and read her book while yo-yoing under a tree in the garden.