【推荐1】Last year, my oldest son Matthew went off to college. Things at home were not as “busy” as they used to be. We still had our 15-year-old son Gabriel with us, but we missed having Matthew around.

My wife soon had a crazy idea. “Let’s get a dog,” she suggested. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, but I agreed. I mean, what better way to replace a kid that has gone off to college than to get a dog.

When we got to the animal shelter, it seemed like every dog was a pit bull (比特犬). I’d had many bad experiences with pit bulls as a child, so I didn’t want to take one of them home with me.

While I walked along the rows and rows of cold metal cages, a dog caught my eye. He was scared, and looked like he’d given up on life. There was only one problem: he was a pit bull.

As he looked at me with his big, beautiful eyes, I could see into his soul. I could see how scared he was and that he just wanted a happy life. I couldn’t just walk away—I had to at least go over and look at him. I approached his cage, and he just sat there, looking at me. I stuck my finger through the hole in the cage and petted him on the head.

I expected him to get mad, but he didn’t.

Our lives have been changed since we took the dog home.

It was a warm day of spring, and the sun poured over the hill that borders Doyle and Rose Martin’s countryside property outside Mifflinburg. It had rained heavily the day before, melting the better part of the long winter’s snow, and the sun was now taking care of what the rain left behind. Water was running down the hill, filling the normally shallow rivers until they nearly jumped their banks. The stream that ran through the Martins’ yard was usually ankle deep, but now it coursed (奔流) angrily at an unexpected speed, up to a man’s waist (腰). And the water was rather cold.

The Martin boys, Henry,11, and Greg,7, would not waste such a lovely afternoon. After the school bus dropped them off, they ran outside to ride bikes along the stream. They were what people call free-range kids. Doyle and Rose had three boys, and they expected their children to learn independence and responsibility, the older ones looking after the younger. Now, Henry and Greg were chasing (追逐) each other on their bikes with little Gardell, who was not yet two, playing nearby. Doyle, a truck driver, was away from home. Rose was busy in the kitchen, where she could check on the boys now and then through the window.

Suddenly Greg burst through the door, his face wet with tears. “I can’t find Gardell!” He screamed. “He was just with me!”

Rose rushed outside immediately and ran around with Henry and Greg calling Gardell’s name anxiously.

Their neighbor Bob was reading a newspaper by the window when he heard the shouts. He looked out and saw Rose and her two sons running and shouting wildly. “Something must have happened,” Bob thought to himself and went outside quickly.

“What’s wrong?” He called out to the Martins.

“We can’t find little Gardell!” Rose shouted back, half crying.

Bob’s heart sank. “Where was he just now?” he asked. “Near the stream,” Henry replied. “Oh, my God! Gardell must be in danger! Call emergency services, Rose!” With these words, he shot off towards the stream. Seized by an awful feeling, Rose quickly pulled the cellphone out of her pocket and dialed 911 while running crazily after Bob, with Henry and Greg following her. They went downstream, scanning the water carefully. Suddenly Bob saw a little body floating in the middle of the stream, stopped by a stone.

“Here’s Gardell !” Bob cried.

My Parents and I had been planning my brother’s birthday party since the beginning of March. Johnny would be six years old in two weeks. My mom was going to bake her special chocolate cake with white icing. As I watched her, I thought, “I wonder what I can do to make my brother’s birthday special.”

I knew my parents had already bought a present for me to give to Johnny, but I wanted to buy him something I had chosen myself and with the money I had saved. After giving it some thought, I wanted to buy him the paint-by-number kit (数字涂色小套装) I had seen at the store around the comer.

I decided to empty my coin jar (存钱罐)   and see how much money I had saved. However, I was disappointed to find there was much less than I had imagined. “Oh, no, I only have about three dollars,” I muttered to myself. The set cost more than I had saved.

Suddenly a “great” idea occurred to me. I slid into my parents’ bedroom where my dad kept loose change (零钱) on top of the dresser (梳妆台). I stood on my tiptoes and saw some coins. I carefully counted out what I needed to make up the difference. “I'm sure Dad won't mind just this once,” I thought.

However, I was soon overcome by guilt (负罪感). Even though there was no one else in the bedroom, I felt like I was being watched. Mom was always telling us about the importance of honesty. Maybe my plan wasn't such a great idea after all. However, I still put all the change I found into my own pocket.

I slid out of my parents’ room and headed toward the door. “Where are you going, Arwen? ” Mom asked, “Oh, just up to the corner store,” I replied. “Well, don't stay out too long, Daddy will be home soon.” “Okay, Mom” I ran out of our house.

Once I got to the store, I took the paint-by-number kit from the shelf.

“Can I help you, young lady?” the saleswoman asked.

“No. I'm just looking, thank you,” I said.

“That's a really nice paint kit. We sell a lot of them and, as you can see, that's the last one.” she said.