As he walked home from yeshivah on Sunday afternoon, Yitzy Levinson was in a bad mood.

The Mishnayos competition was ruining his life.

He thought about what had happened to him over the last few days. Friday night, Mr. Greenbaum had bothered him about the competition at the Shabbos table. Then, after Shabbos, his parents had sat him down to talk about his responsibility to learn more. Today, during recess, his rebbi had called him out of a good game of freeze tag to talk about learning more, as well. Even his friends kept asking him if he was studying for the competition.

Yitzy spied a small rock on the sidewalk and kicked it with all his might. It went rolling into the street.

It’s not fair, he moaned to himself. Why does everyone expect me to spend my life studying? I never wanted to be in this contest in the first place. I wish rebbi would pick someone else instead of me.

He knew however that Rabbi Davis would not choose someone else. Yitzy had asked him to again during recess, and he had said that it was impossible.

As he got closer to his building, Yitzy sighed loudly.

Usually, he looked forward to coming home on a Sunday afternoon but today his father had insisted that they would be spending a lot of time learning together.

I don’t get it, he thought to himself. Why doesn’t anybody understand? I am one hundred percent sure that no matter how much I study I will do poorly on this competition. There is no point in me studying for it!

As he walked up his block, Yitzy noticed something unusual.

There was an ambulance parked in front of his building. Two men in uniforms were wheeling a stretcher out of the building toward the ambulance. Someone was on the stretcher.

Yitzy started walking faster. He knew almost every person in his building, and he desperately wanted to know which of his neighbors was on that stretcher.

He made it to the ambulance the same time as the stretcher. When he saw the stretcher he almost fainted.

It was Mr. Greenbaum, and he looked very sick.

“Mr. Greenbaum!” Yitzy cried. “Are you okay?”

Mr. Greenbaum raised his hand.

“Please stop for just one moment,” he said to the men in uniform.

They stopped the stretcher and activated its brake.

“Yitzy,” called Mr. Greenbaum weakly, “is that you?”

Yitzy couldn’t believe how weak Mr. Greenbaum’s voice sounded. It scared him.

“Y…Yes, Mr. Greenbaum,” he stammered.

“Come closer, Yitzy,” Mr. Greenbaum commanded.

Yitzy nervously took a step toward his old friend.

Mr. Greenbaum lifted his head a little, and looked into Yitzy’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Yitzy,” he said, “everything will be okay. I wasn’t feeling well this morning, and my doctor said he wants me to be taken to the hospital to get checked out. I’m sure, b’ezras Hashem, I’ll be fine.”

Yitzy was very scared, but he tried to be brave and not show it.

“Have a refuah sheleimah, Mr. Greenbaum,” he said. “Please get well and come home soon.”

Mr. Greenbaum smiled weakly.

“Thank you,” he answered. “I really do have to get well. I already told your little twin brothers that I was coming back to dance with them again this Shabbos.”

Mr. Greenbaum put his head back down on the stretcher, and waved to the men in uniform.

They nodded their heads, and began moving the stretcher again.

Yitzy watched as they loaded it into the back of the ambulance. He stood there watching as they started the engine, turned on the flashing lights, and pulled away. He kept standing there as the ambulance drove down the street. In a daze, he watched until he couldn’t see the flashing lights anymore.

Suddenly, he snapped out of his daze.

I’d better tell Mommy and Tatty, he realized.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 748)