“I can't decide!” Carter told his mom. He had a big decision to make, and he was annoyed over it.

“You have to decide. And soon!” Mom told him. “It's not fair for both boys to think you are coming to their parties. I think you should go to Tyler's party. He invited you first and you told him that you were going to come. Besides, it will be at the lake! You love to swim.”

“I know. But, Josh is having a go-kart party! We are all meeting at his house and then going to the go-kart track! That would be amazing!”

“Carter, I told you what I think you should do. But you're old enough to start making these kinds of decisions on your own. Either way, though, you need to tell the boys what you are doing today.

Four days later, Carter was leaving the house for Josh's party. He never did tell Josh or Tyler that he would not be attending their party. They were both expecting him to attend. He meant to tell Tyler that he wasn't coming, but he felt so bad about it. Tyler was his best friend. But go-karts! How could he possibly turn down the chance to drive go-kart around a racetrack? Mom still had not asked him if he told Tyler about his decision. Carter was hoping she would not.

Carter was going to ride over to Josh's house. It's not that far. As Carter rode his bike toward Josh's house, he could feel the sun on his back. It was already a warm morning. A perfect day to be at the lake, he thought with a little regret. But there would be other days to swim at the lake. Today was go-kart day! He smiled and rode harder.

As he rode up Josh's driveway, he was surprised to see there were no cars in the driveway. That seemed odd. He missed the party! No go-karts! How could he have made that kind of mistake?

He thought Josh's party was at ten and Tyler's party was at nine.

He hoped Mom wasn't looking out the window.

Mom was in extreme pain of cancer. I sat outdoors, watching the bees flying from one flower to another. I studied Mom's face, thinking how I could take her mind off the pain she was suffering. Her strong belief had always inspired and encouraged me. It was my turn to do the same for her—to encourage her to cheer up.

“Are the flowers in the field beautiful?” Mom asked weakly. She managed to find beauty in nature. Suddenly, I had an idea and asked her, “How about getting some flowers we can plant together in front of the house?” Mom's face slowly lit up and smiled. She said, “It sounds great.” Then we slowly climbed into the car.

Soon, we were wandering through rows and rows of colorful flowers. Mom's pain was forgotten temporarily as she bent over to choose a bunch of red roses. “Oh, how beautiful,” she whispered, pressing the flowers against her face.

A young lady approached and said, “Hello, ladies. It's a beautiful day for planting flowers. My name is Jenny. You can choose and buy whatever flowers you like.”

She was young and beautiful and I said thanks to her. I hurried to Mom's side, “I think we will have enough flowers to plant, Mom. Would you mind waiting in the car while I pay for them?”

“Let me carry the flowers for you,” Jenny smiled and said, “You are so kind and patient with your mother.” I replied, “Thank you. Mom is experiencing great pain because of her cancer. What I am doing is make her happy and forget her pain.” Suddenly, Jenny froze in her tracks.

She said, “My mom has cancer, too. May I please add your Mom's name to hers? I'd be proud to pray for both of them—overcoming the difficulties and achieving a victory as soon as possible.”

Hearing what she said, we were very inspired.

Mom was so happy that we talked a lot on the way home.

Passion For Historic Sites

Once there was a girl named Vivian who was the only child of her father. Her father was a big and successful businessman who owned seven star restaurants. He did everything only for his daughter.

Vivian was sent to the best university abroad. Although she had everything, the only thing she never owned was respect of other people.

When Vivian came back after her graduation and her father asked her to join his company as an accountant, she was naturally not happy with that. She wanted to work in a higher post but her father wanted her to start as an ordinary girl.

“Dad, I studied in the most outstanding university abroad and got a better education than any of the employees who work under you. Still, you want me to work under them?" said Vivian unhappily.

Vivian's father looked at her with a smile on his face. Vivian was annoyed by her father's reaction but she agreed to work as an accountant in the end.

After some months, there was an emergency situation in the company.One of the restaurants was short of employees because of a sudden resignation (辞职），so they were short on people to do other chores around the place and cook food fast. Vivian's father asked her to help that restaurant with him and the other employees.

When she entered the restaurant, she was hit by the air of tension around the employees. Everybody was busy doing something or other and there was a mess around the restaurant. When she went in the back of the kitchen, she saw a tower of unwashed dishes.

Her father neared her in a hurry and asked her, “Vivian, thank goodness, you are here. Darling, will you please help us and do the dishes?" He patted her on her shoulder and left her to do the dishes.

She looked at the dirty plates and spoons that were piled up before her.

“I didn't study my whole life and come first in everything to do this!”Vivian thought.

Vivian's father picked up the gloves, put them on and started doing the dishes himself.

My parents love the saying “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" so much that they even bought a pillow with those words on it. But I was recently in a situation where I was SO ready to give up.

It started last week when my friend Ollie and I were helping his grandmother Mary to carry boxes from her garage to her car for the homeless shelter rummage sale (义卖).

At the sight of a big old trunk (行李箱)，we asked Mary what was inside. But she told us that as she had lost the key, she had to find a master locksmith to figure it out. "Let me have a try!" said Ollie. “I bet I can open that lock in two minutes flat! Maybe there's a treasure inside, like gold or diamonds or an ancient map!"

Mary smiled. "I'll tell you what. If you two treasure hunters can open this trunk, you can have it, along with whatever is inside."

Ollie got a tool kit and we set out to open the lock. But he definitely lost that bet. Those two minutes turned into two hours, with no luck at all. We had tried every tool in the kit, but the lock wouldn't move slightly.

“It's no use." Ollie sighed. "I guess we have to give up."

“But we can't give up!" I said. "What about 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"?"

Ollie shook his head. "Unless you know a magical key fairy, we're never getting this unlocked."

Just then, my little brother Tex showed up. He showed great interest in the trunk. "It looks like an upside-down boat! Can I turn it over and pretend I'm sailing in the ocean?"

"Sure," Ollie replied. "It's no good for anything else."

“Ahoy!" Tex said, climbing on top after Ollie and I turned it over. “I’m the captain!” He giggled as he jumped up and down. And right then, a screw (螺丝) from a hinge (铰链) came loose and rolled to the floor.

“That's it! I know how to open it!" said Ollie.

Oh! There were only lots of shoes in the trunk!

Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter. Peter's father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes(堤坝)，called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland's canals into the great sea.

One afternoon in the early fall, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play. “Come, Peter,” she said. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend, the blind man. Remember that you shall be home before dark.”The little boy was glad to go on such an errand (跑腿)， and started off with a light heart. He stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him something about his walk along the dike-the sun, the flowers and the ships far out at sea. Then he remembered his mother's wish that he should return before dark. Bidding his friend goodbye, he set out for home.

As he walked beside the canal, he noticed how the rains had swollen the water, and how they beat against the side of the dike, and he thought of his father's gates. “I am glad they are so strong,” he said to himself.“If the dike gave way what should we do? These pretty fields would be covered with water.” As he walked along the dike he sometimes stopped to pick the pretty blue flowers that grew beside the road, or to listen to the rabbits' soft tread as they rustled through the grass.

Suddenly he heard a noise. It was the sound of trickling water! He stopped and looked down. There was a small hole in the dike, through which a tiny stream was flowing. Any child in Holland is frightened at the thought of a leak in the dike. Peter understood the danger at once. If the water ran through a little hole it would soon make a larger one, and the whole country would be flooded. In a moment he saw what he must do. Throwing away his flowers, he climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his finger into the tiny hole. The flowing of the water was stopped! “Oh!” he said to himself. “I can keep the water back with my finger. Holland shall not be drowned while I am here. ”

This was all very well at first, but soon it grew dark and cold. The little fellow shouted and screamed. “Come here; come here,” he called. But no one heard him; no one came to help him.

It grew still colder, and his arm ached, and began to grow stiff and numb.

The moon and stars looked down on the child crouching (蹲) on a stone on the side of the dike.