Monday, February 23, 2026

An apple for the teacher? No, try a rooster instead

Short on cash but not affection, a Tamaulipas primary school student did what he could to give his teacher a present for her birthday.

Teacher Esthefany Gutiérrez Hernández of Matamoros recounted the story on Facebook, recalling that the student had told her he had no money to buy a gift but would bring her one regardless.

Some days later, the student approached his teacher to say he had brought the present, “but I had to hide it because I thought the other teachers might not let me into school with it.”

After receiving her permission to retrieve it, he returned several minutes later carrying a large cardboard box with holes on one side and held shut with a piece of string.

Inside was a rooster.

Gutiérrez's student and her birthday present.
Gutiérrez’s student and her birthday present.

Said the student: “I picked out the prettiest one I had just for you! I don’t have the money to buy you anything, but I hope you like roosters.”

Knowing the youngster rode to school on a bicycle every day, the teacher asked how he managed to carry the box. He found a neighbor to give him a ride, he said.

Gutiérrez wrote on Facebook that she not only appreciated the great effort to which her student had gone — finding a ride and then having to walk back home later, preparing the box and carefully hiding it —  in order to celebrate her birthday but the fact that the incident reminded her why she chose to be a teacher: “to give my all every day so that [her students] are better people.

“Thank you for reminding me why I love my job.”

Her post has received 216,000 likes and 24,000 comments and has been shared 71,000 times.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

MND Local: Business as usual in San Miguel, despite lockdown rumours

0
The city was quiet throughout Sunday, despite being close to nearby areas of unrest.

President Sheinbaum urges calm after cartel boss’s death triggers unrest across Mexico

54
President Sheinbaum urges Mexicans to stay calm and trust official channels after a military operation killed cartel kingpin "El Mencho," triggering violent cartel reprisals nationwide.
Smoke billows above puerto vallarta

State, foreign governments issue shelter-in-place warnings as narco-blockades spread after cartel leader’s death

6
Following the death of one of Mexico's most-wanted cartel bosses, Mexico, the U.S., Canada, and other nations issued shelter-in-place alerts as blockades and arson swept across multiple Mexican states.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity