When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out to be quite1. The fourth grade even found him at the2of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but it did not3—until one stormy afternoon.
On that afternoon, 4the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts, dark clouds
covered the sky, and the storm set in. Hard though she tried to make the kid, 5, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one6the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood them and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back, and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. 7by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time was followed by the time for8. All children naturally drew9pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.
Since then, Joe started10. Though he never made it to the top, his math teacher was always11and curious about the change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?
On the day Joe graduated, he presented the teacher with his most12possession—the picture of a bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I13my brightness.
