Harry and Mr. Sho

Harry and Mr. Sho
by Terry Burres
word count 485

Harry was a boy who lived in a small town in Indiana.It was so small that it was not even on a map.

Sho was a boy who lived in a small town in Japan. It was so small that it was not even on a map.

Harry's father was a forester. He also had a small farm to grow vegetables and animals to help feed his family.

Sho's father was a fisherman. He had a small garden to grow vegetables and he had some chickens to help feed his family.

As boys Harry and Sho both helped their fathers.

Harry had two brothers and one sister. Harry was the oldest child.

Sho had one brother and one sister. Sho was the oldest child.

When the Japanese Government and the American Government went to war against each other Sho was old enough to join the army.

Harry wanted to go fight for his country. He could not because he had hurt his leg when he was a boy. He could not run very far.

Sho and Harry were enemies, even though they had never met each other. They were enemies because their countries were fighting each other.

When Sho went to war his mother gave him a small brass bell. She thought the bell was good luck; so, she gave it to Sho to keep him safe.

Sho was in a battle. He was surrounded and taken prisoner.

Harry worked in a place where the army kept supplies. There was also a prisoner-of-war camp. There the prisoners helped move supplies for the army.

Sho was one of the five prisoners that Harry had to watch while they worked.

Harry and Sho could not understand each other. They did not use the same language.

After a few weeks, Harry and Sho started to understand each other. They learned a few words of each other's language. Mostly they used their hands and faces to let their feelings be known.

Jane, Harry's wife, started sending a little extra food for Sho in Harry's lunch.

Sometimes there were extra eggs in the lunch. Sometimes there would be a special treat like a slice of cake or extra cookies. Harry and his family didn't have a lot of extras, but they had more than Sho so they shared.

Sho and Harry became friends.

When the war was over, Sho was sent back home. They would never see each other again.

Before Sho left for his home, he gave Harry the bell that his mother had given him to take to war.

Sho's mother's good luck bell became a friendship bell between two enemies. That shiny bell always had a place of honor on my Grandpa's bookcase.