This lesson is a bit different from what we normally do. Instead of a dialogue, we've got a short story to share with you. But this is not just any short story. It's actually a homework assignment written by Chris, one of our students who is studying one-on-one with Echo as part of our university program. And it is fantastic. Chris wrote this absolutely lovely tale about an overworked kitten, and when we read it we knew we had to share it with you.

On a related note, if this sounds like the sort of thing you'd be interested in doing yourself, we'd be happy to give you a free trial to experience what our university program is actually like. Just send us an email at echo@popupchinese.com and Echo will schedule a free trial class for you at your convenience.

 said on
June 30, 2010
Reminds me of a dog I used to have actually. Very cute -- thanks for the story Chris. :)

 said on
September 21, 2014
To me the ineffable charm of this story is that we realize only at the end, when the kitten clearly cannot speak but only squeak, as real kittens actually do, that the whole story of the kitten having a job, needing a helper, hiring the puppy is purely a charming fantasy in the mind of Lily. Well done Chris! Write more!

Also it is a testimonial that good writing does not require an advanced knowledge of the language so much as a creative mind.
 said on
June 30, 2015
Ah, the rate at which this story was read was perfect for me. I didn't know all of the vocabulary, but I knew enough to understand the gist. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly. :)
 said on
July 31, 2016
Awesome story!!!!!!!!!