No one knows exactly whether they liked it better in spring or in winter. They used to pretend that they were travelers exploring a new country with lush vegetation (茂盛的草木) and bright yellow daffodils (水仙花) dotting the field, and would drop leaves on the road that they might find their way back again. Everything seemed amazing and appealing.

When the ice was thick and firm, they went across the pond. But their mother did not like to have them do this unless someone was with them.

“Don’t go across the pond today, children,” she said, as she kissed them and bade them goodbye one morning. “It is beginning to melt. It can be dangerous.”

“All right, mother,” said David, though not very good-naturedly, for he was very fond of running and sliding on the ice.

When they came to the pond, the ice looked hard and safe. “There,” said he to his sister, “I knew it hadn’t melted any. Mother is always afraid we shall be drowned. Come along, and we will have a good time sliding. The school bell will not ring for an hour at least.”

“But you promised mother,” said Susan.

“No, I didn’t. I only said ‘All right,’ and it is all right,” said David, holding his head high.

“Oh, well, I didn’t say anything; so I can do as I like,” said Susan. So, they stepped on the ice without any delay, and started to go across the pond merrily. They had not gone far before the ice gave way, and they fell into the chilly water all at once.

“Help! Help!” they both cried for help in panic.

A man who was at work near the shore heard the screams of the children.

David and Susan went home almost frozen.

4 . In my work as a vocational school teacher in Germany, some of my classes are full of students of different nationalities. More often than not, I will have a few refuges (难民) in the class, whose command of German is often rather incomplete regardless of whether they are blow-ins or not. Some of these students who manage to complete their three-year apprenticeships (学徒期) may actually continue to go to school to gain qualifications so they can attend university.

In the past few years, I have taken them aside and given them tips on how to improve their language skills via books, newspapers, apps or online grammar quizzes. And I have given them tips on how to integrate themselves into the German culture better.

Over the last few weeks, I have taken three young men aside and given them tips on how to improve their German such as joining sports clubs, finding ways to build their vocabulary outwith class and taking language immersion courses. After class, I actually even took a couple of them to a noticeboard which displayed valuable information on a poster and they were grateful for this little gesture that only took a minute of my time.

I do not get any extra money for offering this sort of advice and I have sacrificed the odd break over the years, but I feel it is important to help the youngsters in what I consider a valuable way, because once they pass their exams, they will be likely to set up a home and spend their working life here.

Good integration is so important as it builds bridges and expands horizons. It makes me happy to share my knowledge as a language teacher and spread those kindness ripples in everyday life.

The paper on my desk was yellow, with straight blue lines stretching across it. The lines repeated themselves all the way down the page. I counted them. Twenty-six straight lines ran across the paper. The yellow color reminded me of sunshine. In summer, the sun is bright yellow like that, and sky is blue like those lines. I loved blue-blue is for getting lost in…

“You haven’t written a word yet, have you?” Miss Perry had found me out. I hung my head, as in past years, and gave her the lines I had given to previous teachers.

“I don’t feel like it.”

The truth was that I wanted to write about something different. “Write about Your Best Friend,” demanded the assignment on the board. I didn’t have a best friend. I had a few friends, but I didn’t want to claim any of them as my “best”, because I was afraid they might pick someone else. What if I picked a “best” friend and then someone different, who thought I was their best friend, heard my paragraph read aloud and never spoke to me again? It was a stupid topic. I was disappointed in Miss Perry for choosing it.

I knew Miss Perry must have heard about me from my other teachers. I had already prepared myself for another year of listening to teachers scold me. I was only nine years old, but my ears had been full to the voices of my elders. My teachers, my parents and the school principal had all given me the speech “What are we supposed to do with you?”. That was probably what Miss Perry was about to say, too.

However, there was something different about Miss Perry.

I bet I was touched.

With a wave of the wooden stick in my hand, the buffaloes (水牛) moved forward. I guided them along the road’s edge, through the heart of the village. We walked past homes and villagers bending over to tend to their crops. We eyed the green fields, where the buffaloes could eat grass. This was the life in a small village. We had little, but I had a big dream.

Up ahead laughter drew my attention. A group of students came into view. Their uniforms contrasted sharply with my faded trousers and worn-out shoes. I held my stick tightly, stepped forward and asked, “Could you show me your books?”

The students looked from my face to my stick. They quickly opened their bags and showed me their books. Illustrations of people and places stimulated my imagination. “Someday, I’ll go to school, too,” I declared, returning their books. They looked at each other with a taunting (嘲弄的) smile and left me to my buffaloes.

Months passed. Every day I rose to my housework and buffaloes. Until, one day I got my chance. Uncle Peter came to visit. He and my father sat outside, talking.

Finally, Uncle Peter convinced my father that I should go to school. The following week, I went to primary school. Armed with my own books, I set out to learn everything. I read textbooks, asked questions, and even read newspapers and magazines for my father and his friends. By the end of the year, I proved to be one of the best students in the school.

When I was in middle school, I told my classmates I wanted to study literature at University of Karachi, a big city over 150 kilometers away. Everyone laughed and made jokes.

I turned to writing prose (散文) and poetry as an outlet for my emotions and creativity. The challenges life set before me didn’t discourage me; rather, they became stepping stones toward realizing my dream to be a writer.

The day of going to university was approaching, but my father couldn’t afford my further education.

Now, when I reflect on the laughter and doubtful looks from others, their opinions hold no weight.

I am a mother of three and have recently completed my college degree. Before receiving the degree, the last Sociology (社会学) class left me a deep impression.

The teacher of the class was absolutely inspiring with great qualities. Her last project of the term was called “Smile.” The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to a fast food restaurant one cold March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch—a strong feeling of panic welled up inside me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible “dirty body” smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was “smiling” His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of light a she searched for acceptance. He said, “Good day” as he counted the few coins he had been holding tightly. The second man fumbled (摸索) with his hands a she stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his caregiver.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could afford. If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm. Then I really felt it-the urge was so great that I almost couldn’t contain my tears.

I smiled and asked the young lady to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray (托盘).

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

Eric was a very honest and hardworking student. He had entered a new school recently, so he had no friends yet. One Monday morning, he was nearly late for school because his family attended a wedding and reached home late the night before. Hurriedly, he even had no time for breakfast.

At school, Eric was starving to death and could not concentrate on anything but wanted the bell to ring so that he could buy something to eat. After a few hours, when the bell rang, Eric quickly opened his schoolbag to find his money, only to find that he had forgotten to take money since he was in such a hurry in the morning. He looked under his books, hoping to find some money but in vain.

Not knowing what to do, he walked out of the classroom and sat on the grassland in front of the canteen. He saw a few of his classmates there, among whom was Henry. He was one of the richest kids in his class, but he was a very rude boy who regarded everyone else as a failure. But Eric was a newcomer, he didn’t know much about Henry.

When he approached Henry and asked whether he could borrow some money for his lunch, Henry laughed at once and said, “I didn’t know you were a loser, maybe a beggar?” Henry laughed out so loud that other kids also made fun of Eric. Embarrassed and angry, Eric said nothing and slowly walked back towards an empty bench.

When he reached the bench, he saw something lying under it. It was a wallet. He picked it up and recognized it belonged to Henry, as he remembered Henry showing it to his friends and telling them that his uncle had bought it for him from the UK. There was quite a lot of money inside for a kid.

An idea appeared in his mind at this moment.

Then Henry said, “Why are you giving it back?”