The Missing Piece
    
“Where is it?” Mina Revert cried, frustrated. She was standing at the dining table, working on a puzzle. Mina could not find the last piece.
    
“What’s this?” asked Mina’s little brother, Robert. He held up a slip of paper.
    
“Give it to me,” Mina snapped. She snatched it from Robert. “‘Learn a lesson to get it back, Mina.’ What’s that supposed to mean?”
    
“Maybe it means to not be mean to me,” complained Robert.
    
“SHUT UP!” Mina yelled. “H’mm . . . a lesson.”
    
That night, Mina thought about the note. She soon develop a theory that “it” was the puzzle piece.
    
A loud alarm awakened her. Mina had fallen asleep during her little thinking session.
    
Mina decided not to worry about the paper and went on with her day. At school, she read a book about two really selfish girls.
    
“They’re so mean!” Mina said. Suddenly, something began to nag at the back of her mind. There were times when she, too, was selfish. Mina’s feet grew heavier and heavier as the day dragged by. Maybe she should change her attitude.
    
After what seemed like a million years, there were five minutes left in Mina’s last and favorite class, science. Her class was making slideshows for a project. Mina made her way over to one of her classmates, Sonali Mader.
    
“Give me your pencil,” Mina demanded. “I left mine in my locker.”
    
“Oh, sure,” Sonali said kindly,  “I’d be happy to help.”
    
Just then, Sonali’s kindness made Mina realize that she shouldn’t be so mean. She rarely let anyone borrow her pencil. She looked at Sonali.
    
“I’m sorry for being so rude. Thanks for the pencil.” She smiled and returned to her desk.
    
After school, Mina gave Robert a huge hug and apologized for her intolerable behavior. She felt much better after the hug.
    
That night, as Mina got into bed, she noticed the puzzle piece on her nightstand. She smiled and made a silent vow to never be so mean again.