The Secret Is in the Folds

“I CAN’T DO THIS!” Mei yelled at the walls of her bedroom.

A pile of crumpled papers lay all around her. After trying and trying, Mei still couldn’t figure out how to fold a piece of paper to make a little crane.

It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. When Mei saw the little origami animals her aunt Ying-Ying had brought to her home, she was excited. Ying Ying had shown her a crane, a dog, and a frog she had made by folding pieces of paper.

Mei wanted to make little folding-paper animals, too.

Ying-Ying smiled and said, “I’m glad you like them. I’d show you how to do it, Mei, but right now I have to help your mom with dinner. But I brought you a little book with simple instructions. Look at the pictures and give it a try. I think you will be able to follow them.”

Now, once more, Mei looked at that little book. Once more, she made the “X” fold on the paper. Once more, she folded the page horizontally and vertically in half again. One more time, she tried to do the next step and make the paper look like a diamond shape.

No success. It looked like a rectangle. For the tenth time!

Frustrated, Mei threw her latest attempt to the floor. Then she plopped herself there, too.

“I give up!” she screeched.

Just then, Aunt Ying-Ying appeared in the doorway of Mei’s bedroom. She saw Mei lying on the floor. She saw the crumpled papers.

Ying-Ying didn’t say a word about the mess in the room. Instead, she softly said, “Mei, I think you need a break. Why don’t you come help me?”

Mei picked herself up and walked to her aunt.

“Auntie,” she begged, “first, can’t you make this crane for me?”

“I’m sorry, Mei, we can go over the origami later. Besides, it might help to step away from it for a minute. And right now, I need to make those wontons… and that takes time. So won’t you please come and help me make those dumplings?”

Mei followed her aunt into the kitchen and washed her hands. She watched Ying-Ying put the meat filling and wonton wrappers on the kitchen table.

“We’ll do it together,” Aunt Ying-Ying said. “Watch me. First, put a small spoon of the meat in the center of the wonton wrapper.”

Mei followed along.

“Now, wet your fingers with water, then put those fingers on all four wrapper edges. Fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle. Good! OK, now press down to seal the edges.”

Mei watched what her aunt did, and copied her actions.

“Now bring the two outer corners of the triangle together,” Ying Ying explained. “Overlap the tips of these corners, wet them, and press them together to seal them.”

After every instruction, Mei followed her aunt. When she finished, her wontons looked like Ying-Ying’s.

“You’ve done a very nice job, Mei,” said Ying-Ying. “OK, I can finish up now. Why don’t you have a snack, then go and have another try at your paper crane?”

Mei washed her hands, ate a cookie and drank a big glass of water. After thanking Ying-Ying, she headed back to her room.

Mei picked up the last piece of paper she had thrown to the floor. “I can do this,” she told herself. She took a deep breath and looked at the instructions again. She followed them more slowly this time.

Mei folded and flipped the paper. She kept looking back and forth at the instructions.

Finally, she saw them: Crane wings were beginning to take shape out of her folded paper.

Mei laughed. A moment later, she flew into the kitchen to show her aunt and mother what she had accomplished.

Becoming an Artist

Mario and his brother Jose owned an art store in San Francisco, which they were very proud of. They sold the best paints, the best sketch pads, the best stationery, and the best easels. Artists from all over the world came to their store to buy their supplies. Whether they were world-famous artists, or art students, they knew that Mario and Jose sold the best art products for the best prices. Not only that, but Mario and Jose were very helpful and kind people. They helped their customers find whatever they needed. It didn't matter if you didn't know exactly what you wanted: Mario or Jose would walk with you through the store, point out all the different art supplies you could think of, and help you figure out what would be useful to you.

One day a young man came into their store. He had messy brown hair, a long beard, and tiny, beady eyes. He seemed to be searching for something.

"Can I help you?" Mario asked the man.

"I'm not sure. I don't know. You see, I… well, I actually don't have… The thing is, I'd like to buy some… But maybe I should just… I think I'll come back another time." The man spoke so quickly that he stumbled over his words, and then left almost immediately.

Mario looked at Jose. "Was it something I said?" he asked his business partner.

"No," Jose replied. "I don't think that man was ready to become an artist yet."

Mario and Jose forgot about the man and went back to their other customers, making sure that they had enough of their special watercolor paints, their oil paints, and their extra sharp charcoal pencils. You never knew what artists might need for their work!

A week later, the man was back. Mario stayed at the cash register and let Jose try this time.

"Hello, you're back," Jose said with a smile on his face, to make the man feel welcome. "Please feel free to look around our store, and let me know if you have any questions."

Jose let the man walk around on his own, so that he wouldn't feel nervous. Mario and Jose stayed by the cash register, but kept an eye on the man as he went up and down each aisle of the store. Fifteen minutes later, the man came to the front of the store with a sketch pad and some charcoal pencils.

"I'd like to buy these, but I don't have any money. I'm sorry, I don't know what to do."

"That's no problem," Mario said. "Since it's your first time here, consider these two items a gift. It's always scary to start out as an artist. We wish you luck!"

The man looked up at Mario and Jose and smiled. "Thank you so much for your kindness," he said. "I won't forget this."

***

Two years later, an enormous package was delivered to Mario and Jose's store. What could it be? They hadn't ordered anything this large. They opened it, and inside was a beautiful painting of their store—the entrance, Mario and Jose inside it, the sculpture outside the store! Attached to the painting was a note, which read, "You helped me start my journey as an artist. Please accept this payment as thanks!"

Mario and Jose looked up the artist's name, and sure enough, it was the man who had come into their store without being able to pay for supplies. He was now a successful artist, living in Italy, and selling his work all over the world!

Mario and Jose framed the painting and proudly put it at the front of their store.