When I was little, I lived in a house with a beautiful garden full of all kinds of Bowers. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in the garden with my mother reading stories to me. When I was old enough to read, I enjoyed reading stories aloud to her.

I would never forget one day when I was in the third grade. I bad been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had rehearsed (排练) my lines so hard with me. But however easily I acted at home, the moment I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Finally, my teacher took me aside, explaining that she had written a narrator’s (解说员) part to the play, and asked me to change roles. Her word, kindly expressed, still hurt, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

I didn’t tell my mother what had happened when I went home after school that day. But she sensed my pain. Instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.

It was May and roses were blossoming and, under the trees, we could also see yellow dandelions (蒲公英) in the grass, as if a painter had painted our garden with red, yellow and green. I watched my mother casually bend down by one dandelion. ”I think I’m going to dig up all these weeds,” she said, pulling it up by its roots. ”From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden. ”

“But I like dandelions,” I protested, “All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions.” “Yes, every flower is beautiful in its own way, isn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. “And that is true of people too,” she added. “Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that.” Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled to me gently.

Para 1: “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said.

Para 2: After the play, I took home the flower.

That night, I quarreled with my mother, then stormed out of the house. While on the road, I remembered that I did not have any money in my pocket, I did not even take my cell phone with me to make a call home.

At the same time, I went through a noodle shop, and I suddenly felt very hungry. I wished for a bowl of noodles, but I had no money!

The seller saw me standing before the counter and asked, “Hey little girl, you want to eat a bowl?”

“But … but I do not carry money …” I shyly replied.

“Okay, I’ll treat you.” the seller said, “come in, I will cook you a bowl.”

A few minutes later the owner brought me a steaming bowl of noodles. After eating some pieces, I cried.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness!” I said as I wiped my tears. “Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles, and my mother, after a quarrel, chased me out of the house. She is cruel (残忍的)!!”

The seller sighed, “Girl, why did you think so? Think again. I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you felt that way. Your mother has been taking care of you since you were little, why were you not grateful and why did you hurt your mom?”

I was really surprised after hearing that.

Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful, and my mother has raised me since I was little and I have never felt so, not even a little.

Just at that moment, many memories came back into my mind.

When arriving home, I saw my mother sitting at the dinner table, worried and tired.

It was the closing time of the mall. But there was still an hour’s work to get everything cleaned up. It would be 11:00 pm after I finally got home.

I hadn’t even had time to have dinner. I was starving. My feet ached. My whole body, from head to foot, was filled with tiredness. I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed. I had to get up at 5:00 am the next day.

Things had been tight for over a year. My husband Paul’s business had taken a huge hit. Without me taking my second job, there wouldn’t be enough money at the end of the month to pay the bills, let alone buy any Christmas presents for our 15­year­old daughter, Marie. No one wanted to wake up on Christmas morning with a bare tree.

Even so, I wondered how I could possibly handle everything — I worked full­time at a day care, then I worked nights at the mall, and somehow I did my homework for my college class, too. Not to mention what it was doing to my family.

I barely even saw Paul and my daughter anymore. Marie was growing up, but a teenage girl still needed her mom. I worried about her, about us. Was she eating enough? Keeping up with her school work?

I wasn’t afraid of hard work or sacrifice (牺牲). Everyone had to dig deeper these days and put in extra hours. I knew I was blessed to have two jobs when millions of people couldn’t find one. How I hoped to quit my job at the day care and complete a degree full­time. I’d dropped one class for a semester (学期). If I quit that, there was no way I’d find the willpower to try again.

Besides, wasn’t I always telling Marie to keep hoping, keep working and never give up? What kind of example was I setting for my daughter? Suddenly, someone was banging hard at the back door of the mall. Then I went to the door and cautiously cracked it open...It was Marie. She had just finished babysitting.

As a sixth grader, I began noticing how other kids were separating into groups. I wasn’t sure where I belonged. I found it hard to fit in.

Our teacher had assigned “secret friends” for the coming week. She wrote each kid’s name on a piece of paper and threw them into a glass; then we each closed our eyes and catch one piece of paper from the glass on which was the name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend and support each other over the next five school days. By the middle of the week, everyone, including me, had turned this assignment into a competition to see whose secret friend could leave the best gift. We left cards, pens and even money. It seemed that everyone was getting cool presents from their friend except me.

On the last morning of our assignment, I walked into my classroom and noticed there was a package. I opened the wrapping paper and inside was a box of powder (胭脂). The girls sitting near me laughed at the gift I had received. To make matters worse, the powder had already been opened.

I tried to forget about the embarrassing gift, but when I was in the bathroom during the break, the girls who had seen me open the powder started speaking ill of my secret friend. I quickly joined in: “How terrible”. I heard myself saying “What could my friend be thinking by giving me such a stupid gift? My grandmother wouldn’t even want it.” The girls laughed at my remarks and rushed out of the bathroom. I stayed to wash my hands and let the water run through my fingers as I thought about what I had just said. It wasn’t normal like me to say mean things like that about someone.

Then I saw my classmate Janet come out of a bathroom booth (厕所隔间), tears streaming down her face.

Along with my apologies, I explained the reason.

I pulled the car into the garage and got out, just like every night for the past 16 years. The difference was that I wouldn’t have to work in the morning.

I slammed the car door. I used to be a leader of a national bank until it was closed. I’d put my heart and soul into my job. Not only did I work long hours, but also I was on call 24 hours a day, on weekends and holidays. If someone had a technical problem, even at 2:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, I was on it.

My kids joked that even though they were teenagers, I was the one who was absorbed in my cell phone and had to be told not to text at the dinner table.

My wife, Michelle, had been able to go to work full-time as an office manager once we heard my job was threatened. But our son, TJ, was a high school senior, and the girls, Sarah and Tara, were in ninth grade. And I wanted to give them the education and opportunities they deserved. “If I can’t provide anything for my family,” I asked, “what good am I?”

I opened the garage door and stepped out into our yard. The lawn and flower beds that my mum had tended so carefully were overrun with weeds. There was a maple tree in the middle of the yard that my parents planted when I was a boy. It needed caring. But I’d put on a lot of weight—no time to exercise with my crazy hours. I went up to the house. Michelle greeted me at the door with a hug. “It’s going to be okay. We will get through it,” she said. “Maybe you should think of this time as a break. You deserve one.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” TJ said. “I know how much your job meant to you.” His concern was mirrored in the girls’ faces.

“I’ll take care of this,” I told them. “I’m going to work round the clock to find a new job and make our lives go back to normal.”

The next morning, I got up before everyone else.

The new lawn I’d planned for so long began to take shape and so did I.  

“Hurry up you guys, or you will be late for school!” called Mom. We went downstairs and had a quick breakfast. I was eating my favorite — very sweet porridge, and Sara was. having eggs. When I rose to have my bowl washed, Mom whispered, “You know you need to be cautious today when you’re walking Sara to school. It’s your job to assure (保证) me she gets there all right.” Then she cast me. a very serious look. I thought to myself, wondering why Mom was making such a big deal out of this. It was Sara’s first day of Kindergarten, but I could manage it. I wish Mom would treat me like an adult.

Then Sara ran out of the house, and I went behind her, skipping down the front walkway to the sidewalk. Along the way, I could feel Mom’s gaze on us.

I grabbed Sara’s hand. “Are you eager and excited for your first day of school?” I asked, trying to sound like a grown-up. Sara smiled and nodded her head yes. Meanwhile, my mom was staring at us through the window. “When will she treat me like an adult?” I thought. “I will show you the way.” I said. I felt proud to be the elder sister. We walked past beautiful gardens and big, leafy trees. Suddenly, I heard a growl (低吼) and saw a dog walking towards us. He was big and fierce looking with long sharp teeth. “GRRRR!!!” the dog barked. I didn’t see its owner or anyone who could help us. My hand became sweaty and Sara stopped walking. “I’m scared, Julie,” she said. I didn’t want her to be scared. I wanted to appear brave. “Everything will be okay,” I said.

“GRRRR!!!” The dog stepped closer and we could see it was the size of a small horse — with red eyes and sharp teeth.

Eleven-year-old Kristina shouted on the phone. Vera, her mother, packing lunches for her two children, heard the shouting and dashed to Kristina. Kristina gave her the phone. Kristina was talking to her father at his doctor’s office in Moscow, Russia.

“Vlad, why is Kristina shouting?” began Vera in Russian.

“Vera, this afternoon I must attend a conference at her school. But I cannot be there. I have an important meeting. Why don’t you attend it?” Vlad replied.

“How can I go?”

“You are not going to a forest. You’ll be fine!”

“I know, but I can’t speak English properly. It’s a rule at her school.”

“You can manage. GO!”

Vera turned to Kristina, “Kristina, your father is busy. I will come instead of him.”

Kristina shouted, “Mother, you can’t speak English. How can you come to the conference? NO!” She plowed through her mother and ran sobbing. But Vera convinced Kristina. As there was no option, she agreed and left for school.

Vera was depressed. She felt that if only she knew English, she could avoid such situations. “But how is it possible for me to learn English while balancing so many tasks?” Suddenly, she realized that Andrei was getting late, so she got him ready and walked him to school.

In the afternoon, Vera attended the conference at the school. All the teachers and staff gave a warm welcome to Vera. Kristina kept quieting her mother. All she said were phrases like, “You are embarrassing!” “Stop talking!” and “You do not know English!” Ignoring her daughter’s comments, Vera managed to keep her cool and finished the meeting.

After delivering a cake to a customer, Vera went home to start dinner. At home, she asked her mother-in-law where Kristina was. She said that Kristina had gone to study with her friends. While they were talking, Kristina walked in.

Vera asked, “Why did you go out? You can study at home, you know!”

”I have doubts about English Literature. Can YOU clarify them?” Kristina said in an arrogant (傲慢的) tone.

The power of silence

Joe was an old man aged 75. His children grew up and moved to different cities in pursuit of a good career and future. He lived in a small village carrying the memories of his deceased wife. Joe had 4 grandchildren and they used to visit him during their holidays. And it was the vacation time and Joe was eagerly waiting for his grandchildren. He was making preparations for their arrival, cleaning the house, mowing (修剪) the lawn, rearranging the household items and buying snacks and dresses for the children, etc.

However, in the busy arrangements, he lost his favorite watch, which was given by his late wife when their first child was born. Joe treasured the watch and it became his only companion (伴侣) after his wife’s death. He didn’t realize that he had lost the watch and received the kids happily at home. It was only the next day when he was about to take a bath that he remembered the watch was missing. He was shocked and very upset. His grandchildren asked him why he was so sad and what troubled him.

Joe said, “Dear children, I lost the most precious watch I have ever had in my life. It was gifted by your grandma and I lost it while cleaning the house. I feel like I’m missing my heart.” Joe was in tears and the children promised him that they would find the watch for him.

One granddaughter, Mary, asked, “Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before you lost it?” Joe said, “I guess when I was cleaning the barn.”

The children immediately began to search for the watch in the barn. The barn was full of waste materials, books, broken furniture, etc. They searched for more than three hours with the help of Joe, but failed.

After a fruitless search for the watch, Joe gave up.   

Mary stayed alone in the barn for about 10 minutes quietly and then rushed to her grandfather.