Jim slumped on the couch. Mother’s Day was coming up, and he didn’t have a present. “How can I buy a present without money?” he thought.

Jim picked up the newspaper that was lying on the couch. He noticed a large advertisement on the front page. The local department store was sponsoring a contest. “Tell us why your mom is special and win a shopping spree(疯狂购物) for her,” said the ad.

“This is perfect!” thought Jim. He ran to his room with the newspaper, taking a pencil and a blank piece of paper from his desk, he started to write.

“My mom is the best mother in the world. She always makes a lunch for me to take to school, and she never forgets my dessert. She reads as many books to me before bed as I want. She always remembers to check under the bed for monsters. And she gives the best hug, but never in front of my friends, who would laugh at me for hugging my mom.”

Jim liked what he had written. He copied it neatly and got an envelope and a stamp from his dad. He ran to the mailbox with his entry(参赛作品), “Mom will love having a shopping spree,” he thought.

Jim checked the mailbox every day for his prize. Days passed by, and then weeks. Soon it was the day before Mother’s Day. Jim still hadn’t heard anything about the contest.

“What am I going to do now?” he wondered. He didn’t have a present, and he didn’t have a shopping spree, and he still didn’t have any money. He had to think of something. Jim closed his eyes and curled his toes and thought so hard that his ears hurt.

Suddenly he had an idea.

The next morning, Jim handed his present to his mom.

I lived in the State of Texas, where sudden storms often happened every year. Last Sunday, there was no dirt in the air, only bright spring sunshine and a clear blue sky. After lunch, Papa headed out to the field to check on the cattle while Mama started dinner. Everything seemed peaceful. Faye and I played happily in the yard. The heat had been building since dawn. Suddenly the temperature dropped--- it felt good.

Then Mama shouted from the house, “Iris, you and Faye get inside, read quick now!”

I looked to the west and saw a huge black cloud of dust, like thick smoke from a railway engine’s chimney. All the birds flew away. The stop lights nearby weren't working because of a power failure.

“Faye, go with Mama!” I shouted. “I’ll warn Papa.”

Faye ran toward the house. The storm hit so fast that I hardly saw her climb the steps. In a short time, the day turned into night. I screamed for Papa, hoping my voice would lead him back. But I couldn’t hear or see him at all.

Some poor house roofs were blown off, and small trees down. I thought a terrible storm was on the way and the scene was “the worst I've seen in several years.” The dirt and sand stung(刺痛) my face like a thousand bees. I needed to get to shelter. Covering my face with one hand, I made my way toward the car and opened the door. Dirt flew in with me as I pulled the door closed. Papa was still out somewhere! I needed to help him find the car.

I searched the dashboard (仪表板) and found the switch for the front lights. They made some rays, but would Papa see them in the thick darkness? I pushed the horn (喇叭) again and again, hoping Papa would hear it.

Suddenly, Papa’s face appeared at the window.

Papa shut off the car’s lights and I worried the dirt would bury us.

A vacation with my mother

I had an interesting childhood: It was filled with surprise and amusements, all because of my mother-loving, sweet, and yet absent-minded and forgetful. One strange family trip we took when I was eleven tells a lot about her.

My two sets of grandparents lived in Colorado and North Dakota, and my parents decided to spend a few weeks driving to those states and seeing all the sights along the way. As the first day of our trip approached, David, my eight-year-old brother, and I unwillingly said good-bye to all of our friends. Who knew if we’d ever see them again? Finally,we packed suitcases, books, games, camping equipment, and a tent into the car and bravely drove off. We bravely drove off again two hours later after we’d returned home to get the purse and traveler’s checks Mom had forgotten.

David and I were always a little nervous when using gas station bathrooms if Mom was driving while Dad slept: “You stand outside the door and play lookout while I go, and I’ll stand outside the door and play lookout while you go.” We were never actually left behind in a strange city, but we weren’t about to take any chances.

On the fourth or fifth night, we had trouble finding a hotel with a room available. After driving in vain for some time, Mom suddenly got a great idea: Why didn’t we find a house with a likely-looking backyard and ask if we could set up tent there? David and I became nervous. To our great relief, Dad turned down the idea. Mom never could understand our objections. She thinks everyone in the world as as nice as she is. We finally found a vacancy (空房) in the next town.

Para1: The next day we really couldn’t find a hotel with a vacancy and remembered the brand-new tent we had brought with us.

Melia and her father had just finished building a tree house in the backyard. Melia, an artist, wanted to decorate the walls, and instead of buying things, she decided to make her own art.

Melia enjoyed making collages (拼贴画). For her tree house, she thought she would use pictures from magazines. She could collect used magazines from neighbors, so the pictures would be free. And to create all her favorite things, she could add pretty leaves, and fruits of pine trees from the yard.

For several days, Melia collected bits of nature to use for the collage. Melia collected magazines from the neighbors. She piled both on the front entry, as her plan was to finish the art over the weekend. Oddly, though, when she added to the piles each day, many of the sticks and leaves were gone, and the pile of magazines was a mess.

“Dad? Mom?” Melia asked. “Have either of you been taking the supplies for my collage off the entry?”

“No, why on Earth would we do that?” her dad answered with a question.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that someone is ruining my art project! It’s my mission to find out who and why!” Melia declared.

Who would want to steal this stuff? She had a plan. She cleaned up the rest of the leaves and threw the ruined magazines in the recycling bin. She started collecting old magazines again, hoping to set a trap. Even if she had to stay up all night, Melia was determined to solve the case.

Once she had collected a large pile of magazines, Melia formed several piles at the front door. She placed them close to the window so that she could catch the thief. She asked her parents if she could sleep on the sofa. “I know they’re used magazines, but I need them for my art project. I have to solve this case!”

Melia was determined to catch the thief, but she had a difficult time staying awake. Within a few hours, she had nodded off.

Just as the sun was rising, a slight scratching (挠) sound a woke her.

Melia ran back into the house, shouting, “It’s a squirrel (松鼠)! Come and look!”