【明報專訊】DENISE loved paper clay (紙黏土) sculpting, but she couldn't afford to take a sculpting course. Just taking art lessons at school wouldn't make her a sculptor.

The school art room was full of excellent artworks by students. A shelf was lined with a series of wondrous paper clay sculptures. Denise liked one of them particularly. It was a lovely panda. Knowing that she wasn't an expert, she applied herself and practised the skills for several hours a day. Also, she borrowed several books about sculpting from the library.

"Look at this stupid girl and the ugly pieces of clay."

Denise's classmates teased her ruthlessly. To Denise, such words were very discouraging and depressing, but they didn't shake her a little. She loved her hobby. And she just enjoyed it immensely and ignored her classmates. Months passed. One day there was a fire at the art room.

All the artworks were destroyed, as were the marvellous sculptures. Though no one was injured, the room wasn't as vibrant as it had been. It looked rather empty after it was restored, and that troubled the school principal, who was about to receive some international students.

One day he came by the art room. Surprisingly he saw a girl making a paper clay sculpture inside. Who's that girl? Denise of course.

"Oh dear, why are you working so hard on this?" the principal asked softly.

Though feeling quite nervous seeing the principal, Denise replied with confidence, "It's what I love and that's the only reason."

"Oh the panda you made looks exactly like the one that was destroyed by the fire!" The principal then came up with an idea. He asked if Denise would be interested to make some sculptures for the art room. What he had proposed did strike Denise as a little sudden, but she accepted that without any hesitation.

During the visit, the international students and Denise's classmates were amazed by the sculptures she had made.

"They're stunning. Would you like to make me one?" One of them laughed at Denise before.

"Nope. But I could teach you how." Denise gave her classmate a smile. She knew that the path to success is always full of obstacles. But they will be overcome soon if you don't give up.

◆Food for thought

Perseverance is the quality you need when you are faced with extreme difficulty. When was the last time you really felt hopeless? How did you overcome the problem?

■Gear up

Fill in the blanks with the correct words.

(1) All the sculptures are destroyed by a __________.

(2) In order to understand how to make paper clay sculptures, Denise borrows some __________.

(3) The principal invites Denise to make sculptures for the art room because there will be a visit by some __________ students.

(Answers on next text)

■Glossary

wondrous (adj) 絕妙的

apply yourself (v) 努力

immensely (adv) 非常

perseverance (n) 堅持不懈

[Smarties' Power English 第252期]