“Mum!” Megan appeared on the doorway of the living room, her face flustered and red. Nora Alberg was reading one of those historical novelettes which always made Megan feel sleepy. “Mum, my ring! The one you and Dad had given me for my birthday; I can’t find it anywhere and I turned my room inside out looking for it!” Mrs. Alberg frowned slightly, her eyes still glued to the yellowed pages. “I thought Joseph had borrowed it for some conjuring-” Her statement was cut off by a small shriek. “Conjuring work? With my ring? Joseph? Mum, I swear, I swear that if even for once I catch hold of that little mite, I’ll make him clean this house over fifty times a day for a decade! You just watch, Mum! And I can’t believe it, you just let him go?” .Mrs. Alberg tried to comfort her daughter saying “Dear, ever since you lost the Annual Race of your school, you been down in the dumps. He’s trying his level best to crack a smile on that sullen little face of yours and I think it would be most kind of you if you cooperate a little. You know, just to express your gratitude to perhaps the most considerate brother in the country” . Megan sighed, her mom was right, she had insisted on participating in the Annual Race of her school, she had slipped on a bit of muddy stretch while running and crashed on to the ground and she had lost the race, her only consolation prize being a rather big bruise on her knee and a few sympathetic comments. So, she had had no right to shout at her family members like this and spoil their mood. It was entirely her fault, if anybody was to blame. It had felt really awful, all the same. Megan had practiced so hard during her holidays, so as to come first in the race this time. “Sorry, I guess I am giving a hard time to you guys, isn’t it?” “ Mrs. Alberg smiled and finally put down Life On The Rough Seas: A True Story Of A Viking. “ Oh no, its not that, dear. We all know how upsetting it was for you, but look at the bright side. Finally you are getting to...