Betty taught that Sunday school class for twenty years. Though she never married， or had children of her own， the town came to think of her as a surrogate parent since she taught two generations of children. At last， her hair grew into a natural gray. Increasing wrinkles about her mouth and eyes added character to her cherub face. Her hands began to shake with age. Every now and then， she received a letter from a former student. There was a doctor， a research scientist， a homemaker， a businessman， and many teachers among them.
One day she reached into her mailbox and pulled out a blue envelope with a familiar foreign stamp in the upper right-hand corner. In the left corner was the name of a boy in that very first Sunday school class， years ago. She recalled how he’d always liked her cookies and seemed so interested in her lessons. A picture slid out of the envelope and onto her lap. Squinting her eyes， she smiled at the man in the photo， still seeing the teenage boy in him. Standing in the rubble， in the city of Delhi， India， he stood with other volunteers who had come to help the earthquake victims.
The caption read， “Because of you， I am here now.”
斯万小姐再也不想做主日学校的老师了。哪怕再上一次课都不行！这帮野蛮的孩子在祷告时间内嚼着泡泡糖，在圣经课上看杂志。最令人无法容忍的是，在祷告时，他们竟然向上帝要求增加每周的零用钱！
“我再也无法容忍你们了，我请辞！” 她冲着学生们尖叫道。“酷，”雷克赞成地点着头说。他是斯万见过的最无礼的孩子。
两个月后，星期日学校才找到新老师。牧师护送贝蒂·雷小姐去见这帮看起来像假天使的孩子们。刚到这个城镇的她还没听说过孩子们赶走老师的事。看到她那小号的粉色衣服，以及一头染的极差的金发，学生们明显感到她很容易对付。不久，学生开始打赌贝蒂小姐最多能呆多久。