Sometime during the seventh grade, two things happened to me. The first was that I got hooked on salami. I couldn’t get enough of the salty, spicy sausage. The other thing was that my mum and I weren’t getting along really well. We weren’t fighting really badly or anything. We also didn’t laugh together much anymore until that afternoon.

As far as the salami went, my mum wouldn’t buy any because she said it was too expensive and not that good for me. To prove my emerging independence, I decided to go ahead and eat what I wanted anyway. So one day I used my allowance to buy a full sausage of dry salami.

Now a problem had to be solved: Where would I put the salami? I didn’t want my mum to see it. So I hid it in the only place in my room that I knew was totally safe—under my bed. There was a special corner under the bed that my mum rarely had the ambition to clean. Under the bed went the salami, back in the corner—in the dark and the dust.

A couple of weeks later, I remembered the delicious treat that was waiting for me. I peered beneath the bed and saw—not the salami that I had hidden, but some strange, green and hairy object that didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before. The salami had grown about an inch of hair, and the hair was standing straight up, as if the salami had been surprised by the sudden appearance of my face next to its hiding place. Being the picky eater I was, I was not interested in consuming any of this object. The best thing I could think of to do was … absolutely nothing.

Some time later, my mum became obsessed (对……着迷的) with spring cleaning, which in her case meant she would clean places that had never seen the light of day. Of course, that meant under my bed. I knew in my heart that she would soon find the object in its hiding place. She washed, scrubbed (擦洗), and dusted.

Then one afternoon my mum’s screams sharply came from my room.

Finally, the laughter I had been trying to hold back exploded from my mouth.

Prissy Baker was in Mr. Miller’s store on New Year’s morning, buying matches when her uncle, Richard Baker, came in. He did not look at Prissy, nor did she wish him a happy New Year; she would not have dared.

Uncle Richard had not been speaking with Prissy or her father since the two brothers’ disagreements over the division of a piece of property(财产)eight years ago. The fault had been mainly on Uncle Richard’s side, but he was unwilling to admit it.

He was actually a big, strong-looking man-an uncle to be proud of, Prissy thought, if only he were like what he used to be himself. He was the only uncle Prissy had, and when she was a little girl they had been great friends; but that was before the quarrel.

Uncle Richard informed Mr. Miller he was on his way to Navarre to deliver a load of pork. “New Year’s Day would be pretty much the same as any other day to you,” said Mr. Miller, for Uncle Richard was a single.

“Well, I always like a good dinner on New Year’s Day,” said Richard Baker. “It’s about the only way I can celebrate. I got everything ready last night but I have to send the pork now. I won’t get back from Navarre before one o’clock, so I guess I’ll have to put up with a cold bite.”

After her uncle had driven away, Prissy walked thoughtfully home. She did not mean to cook a dinner, for her father had to meet a friend and would be gone the whole day. There was nobody else to cook dinner for. Prissy’s mother had died when Prissy was a baby.

But as she walked home, she could not help thinking about Uncle Richard. He would certainly have cold New Year, cold enough to freeze the whole coming year. She felt sorry for him, picturing him returning from Navarre, cold and hungry, to find a fireless house and an uncooked dinner.

Suddenly an idea came into Prissy’s head. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prissy had just set the table when an angry voice cut through the peace. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once there lived a girl named Melanie. The little girl was living with a dream. She wanted to be a ballet dancer. Her body was very flexible and she had a strong will power. Melanie’s parents never knew of the great dancing skills their daughter had until one day, they saw the little one dancing with the beautiful steps of a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员).

“Isn’t it strange? Melanie is dancing so well without any formal training!” the mother said.

“We must give her professional lessons to help her improve her skills,” her father said.

The following day, Melanie’s parents took her to a local dance training school. Upon meeting the dance teacher, her parents requested Melanie’s admission to the school. The teacher asked Melanie to dance. The little girl was happy and showed some of her favorite dance steps. However, the teacher didn’t seem interested in her performance. He kept himself busy with other tasks in the dance room while the little girl continued dancing with the hope of impressing the teacher.

“That’s OK. You can leave now!” the teacher said.

Melanie was shocked to hear this. So were her parents. They couldn’t believe their ears.

“The girl is average. She does not have it in her to become a ballerina,” the dance teacher said. “Don’t let her waste her time dreaming of one day becoming a dancer.”

Disappointed, Melanie and her parents returned home. Tears rolled down Melanie’s face. Her dreams were shattered (粉碎) within a matter of minutes. With crushed ( 被 击 碎 的) confidence, Melanie never attempted to dance again. She completed her studies and went on to become a teacher in school. Life was good and she kept herself busy with family and work. However, whenever she happened to pass the school’s ballet room, memories of childhood days danced before her eyes.

One day, the ballet trainer in her school was late.

 “What a performance, Melanie! You are a true ballerina!” said the ballet trainer entering the classroom.