The boy who liked to learn. Peter’s Christmas Story.

Long, long time ago, long before cars even existed, and only horses and carriages would crowd the streets, a boy named Peter was living in an orphanage. Then, same as now, living in an orphanage was no pleasant thing: it meant that you didn’t grow up sheltered by your parents’ love. On top of everything, the old couple taking care of the orphanage was not the most caring and loving of the sort. They made the kids work hard from dust till dawn: taking care of the garden, washing and sewing and sometimes even cooking for other kids from rich families.

But aside from all the hard and tiring chores Peter was doing something else as well. Whenever he could find some free time he would hurry to the library to read. And if he wasn’t in the library, you could find him in the garden, still immersed in the wonderful world of books. He loved to read, to learn, to ask around. About everything. And all the kids loved him in turn because every night, before they fell asleep, he would tell them wonderful stories about the world. The stories heard each night seemed to make the following day’s work seem a bit easier.

Christmas Day was the only time in the whole year when the kids weren’t working. They each even received a gift. None of them had anything of their own, not even one toy. But that day they received something, something of their own, just for themselves… a wonderful, round, juicy orange.

This year Peter was very excited about Christmas. In his small village surrounded by high mountain tops an orange was a very rare and precious thing. Many times the kids would save their oranges for days, weeks, even months, cherishing them like the small treasures they were.

The boy would sleep with his orange under his pillow, surrounded by the smell of Christmas and dreaming of children all over the world enjoying the magical flavor of oranges. He would feel hope that one day he would be surrounded by piles of delicious food and he would have a beautiful life.

This time Peter was planning to keep his orange through the year, up until July. If he was very careful with the orange, keep it cold and not drop it maybe he would be able to enjoy it for his birthday, he said to himself.

Christmas Day finally came and all children loudly burst into the dining room. Unusual smells of holiday and fresh pies were flowing in the air. Full of excitement and thrilled by all the magical flavors, Peter stumbled in his too-big shoes, tripped and fell, dropping all his food all over the recently-cleaned floor. The supervisor severely scolded him: “Peter, get out this instant! And you can forget about your orange this year!” The cruel words broke the kid’s heart. Peter started crying and went running to his dorm room to hide.

After a while, his room’s door opened and all the children came in, one by one. Young Eliza, with blonde curly hair and red cheeks, handed him a bulky cloth hiding something inside: “Don’t be said. You tell us the most beautiful stories about mountains and magical princes and numbers and dragons and you have to learn them all and tell them to us. Here…” she said in her soft voice, holding out her hand. Peter took the piece of cloth and, inside, found a large, wonderful, plumpy and delicious orange, already sliced. Each child gave up a piece of their own orange so that in the end, they all together made a whole new orange for Peter.

The boy never forgot the warmth, love and sacrifice his friends showed him that Christmas Day. He never learned all the stories in the world, but he always kept on learning new things, wherever he could – from school, from books, from friends, from grown-ups and even from children. Peter’s childhood was poor and simple, but later on, through hard work and by his relentless desire to learn things, he became a good man, surrounded by love and abundance.

To honor that day, Peter sent oranges to the children all over the world each year. His wish was that no child would spend Christmas without a special fruit.

Peter’s story is a happy one, and so should be all stories about children who like to learn. Teach for Romania’s wish is for all children to have equal access to quality education that can give them the best start in life.

A recent study published by OECD PISA in 2011 shows that children whose parents often read books to them during their first year of studying ten to have better results in school.