“The Broken Water Bottle,” Friend, August 2023, 38–39.
The Broken Water Bottle
Kadie was thirsty. How could Sophia help?
This story took place in Sierra Leone.
Sophia listened carefully as her teacher explained the math problem on the blackboard.
“So, what is nine times four?” the teacher asked.
Sophia raised her hand. “Thirty-six!” she said.
Her teacher smiled. “That is right, Sophia!”
After class, it was time to go home. Sophia walked with her friends. They all pulled out their water bottles to drink the last of their water. It was hot today!
But Sophia saw something strange. Her friend Kadie wasn’t drinking water. She was just walking quietly along.
“Kadie, where is your water bottle?” Sophia asked. Everyone was always thirsty by the end of school.
“I broke it yesterday, and I can’t get a new one,” Kadie said. “So now I can’t bring water to school.”
Sophia looked down at her own water bottle. She wished she could share! But her water was all gone.
All day, Sophia thought about Kadie and her broken water bottle. It wasn’t easy to get clean water where they lived. Most kids got just one water bottle to use all year. They filled it up from a big container of clean water at home. You could get sick from drinking other water. If Kadie didn’t have a water bottle, she couldn’t take water from home to drink at school.
The next morning, Sophia thought about how she could help Kadie. Sophia’s family had some plastic bottles full of water. Sophia added one to her backpack, along with her metal bottle. It made the bag a little heavier, but she didn’t mind.
When she got to school, she found Kadie.
“Kadie, did you get a new water bottle yet?” Sophia asked.
Kadie shook her head with her eyes down.
“That’s OK,” Sophia said. “I have one for you!”
She gave Kadie the water bottle. Kadie smiled.
“Thank you, Sophia!” Kadie gave her friend a big hug.
During class, Kadie drank from her water bottle with the other kids. Sophia was glad to see her friend didn’t have to be thirsty.
Every day that week, Sophia brought an extra water bottle for her friend. Then one morning, Sophia’s mom picked up her backpack.
“Hmm,” Mom said. “This feels heavier than usual.” She opened the backpack and pulled out the extra water bottle.
“Did you mean to pack this extra water bottle for school, Sophia?” Mom asked.
Sophia nodded. “Kadie’s water bottle broke, and she can’t get another one. So she didn’t have any water at school.”
“How long have you been taking extra water to her?” Mom asked.
“Just this week,” Sophia said. “I didn’t want Kadie to be thirsty.”
Mom smiled. “That is very kind of you to think of your friend. That is something Jesus would do. I’m happy to see you being like Jesus.” She gave Sophia a hug. “And I think I know another way we can help.”
Mom gave Sophia a metal water bottle. “Give this to your friend instead so she can keep reusing it. That way you don’t have to take a plastic one every day.”
“Really?” Sophia asked.
Mom nodded. “Yes. Just ask her to keep it safe.”
Sophia took the water bottle to school. The first thing she did was give Kadie the bottle.
“Wow,” Kadie said. “Thank you, Sophia!” Kadie gave her a hug.
Sophia felt warm inside. She knew she had helped her friend, like Jesus would.
Illustrations by Melissa Kashiwagi