Lily was very excited. Her 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle was almost complete. She easily fit the final pieces into the puzzle. She had taken two weeks to complete the puzzle and she proud of her work.

As she stared at the puzzle on the dining table,she heard her mother call to her. Her mother announced that dinner was almost ready. She asked Lily to remove her puzzle and set the table for dinner.

Lily was about to remove the puzzle when the phone rang. It was her classmate Judy. Lily could not wait to gloat about her newly-completed puzzle. She decided that dinner could wait for a few more minutes and proceeded to chat with her friend for fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile her mother had emerged from the kitchen with a pot of hot soup. She was aghast to find the dinner table still in a mess,while Lily chatted happily on the phone. She turned to scold Lily but she accidentally knocked into the chair. The soup spileed over,directly onto the jigsaw puzzle.

Lily came running the moment she heard her mother's angry voice but it was too late. The soup had ruined a good portion of the jigsaw puzzle. Lily burst into tears at the sight of the damaged puzzle. She regretted not listening to her mother and realised her mistake,but the damage had already been done.

When Lily related the incident to me, I was saddened that my friend's hard work had gone to waste. If I had been in her place, I would have placed the puzzle in a safe place before leaving the table. I would also have finished my chores before attending to the phone call.