James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! How on earth was he going to get the rest of the money?

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no point asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to spare.There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn it. He would have to find a job. But who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had opinions on most things. "Well, you can start right here," said Mr. Clay. "My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing." That was the beginning of James's odd-job(零工)business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the variety of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the number of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the money increased and he knew that he would soon have enough for the bicycle he longed for. The day finally came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode proudly home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more than he had bought it with his own money. He had achieve what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.