An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.

The father asked his son, “What is this?” The son replied, “This is a crow.”

After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”

After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, “What is this?” This time, the son was irritated (生气) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”

After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?” This time his son shouted in his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘It’s a crow’. Are you not able to understand this?”

A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered(破旧的) diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the read it, the following words were written in the diary:

“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel annoyed, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son.”

After reading the diary,the son was in tears and began to reflect on the days when he used to sit together with his father.

Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees before his father.

I am Sadie. I love oceans, especially the one near my grandma's house with beautiful shells. Why? That's what I am about to tell you.

It all started when my parents divorced a few weeks ago. I had remained silent since then. So my mother decided to send me to Florida to live with my grandma.

On the way to my grandma’s house, my mother said, “Sadie, I know we are not the best family you can have and I truly apologize. I just do not know how to be a mother. But remember, Sadie, whatever happened, I do love you." These words made me sadder.

When we arrived, Grandma told me to go upstairs and unpack my things while she spoke to my mother. When I saw a blue and green painted room with a huge window and a comfortable bed, I thought, Moving to Florida might not be that bad." I comforted my-self as I walked towards the window. I opened the curtains and saw sky-blue waves slowly washing away the sand on the beach and sea birds flying in the clear sky. The ocean was only a few hundred meters away from here.

After my mother left, Grandma softly touched my shoulder, “I want to take you to the place I called 'the Big Blue’. And I think you might like it." (I guess you could know where it is.)

Before I stepped on the sand I could smell the ocean. Together we enjoyed the sunset with a whole lot of yellow and orange. Suddenly she picked out the most beautiful shell I had ever seen in my life. It was almost gold, shining in the sunlight. I couldn’t move my eyes off it.

"Want to know how I get through my parents' divorce?" Grandma asked.

"The beautiful shells here gave me the courage to live on,” Grandma said.

My mother was a supporter of physical punishment, but for all her talking she has never spanked (打屁股) my siblings and me only once. Instead，she found ways of punishment that left a more lasting memory than giving us a spanking. One of the most memorable of these occasions occurred when I was four.

In the early 70’s my mother attended college during the day and I was in daycare. One day at daycare I watched an extremely tired mother attempt to pick up her daughter. The little girl asked, “Momma, are we going to McDonald’s for dinner?” The mother replied, “Honey, not tonight. Momma has to run a few errands (差事) and then we have to go home and cook dinner for Daddy.” “But I wanna go.” “Susie, I said not tonight. Maybe, if you are a good girl, we can go tomorrow.” Susie immediately dropped to the floor, kicking and screaming, “I want to go to McDonald’s.”

No amount of pleading (恳求) or scolding, her mother tried stopped Susie’s tantrum (发脾气). Finally her mother gave in, “Okay, Susie, let’s go to McDonald’s.” Susie stopped yelling and smiling she grabbed her mother’s hand and they left. To say I was amazed would be inaccurate; I was delighted that anything I wanted could be had by throwing a tantrum.

That day my mother picked me up early from daycare because we were going to a store to purchase some Christmas items. I was excited by the lights and decorations, and as we walked through the toy section on the way to the counter, I saw a toy I had to have. It was a white and red telephone whose bells rang as it was pulled along on a string. Looking lovingly up at my mother I asked, “Mama, can I have that telephone?”

She replied, “Baby, not now, but if you are a good girl, maybe Santa will bring it to you.” “But Mama, I want that telephone right now.” Her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened on mine. “Becky, you can’t have that telephone today, but if you misbehave, you can have a spanking.”

By now we were standing in the long holiday line to pay the bill, and I figured it was a good chance.

“Mama, stop. Mama, get up,” I tearfully pleaded.

A Sweet Song

"Nothing will ever be the same again," Ally whispered. She sank slowly into her father's favorite chair and stared at the small American flag on his desk. It was the flag which Chief Russell had given to her after the funeral last summer, when he hugged her and told her how proud the Police Department was of her dad's work for them. His tears had warmed Ally's cheeks; her own tears were still frozen inside her heart.

Ally looked at her father's picture on the bookcase. Dad was sitting in the middle of a stream, wet through but grinning proudly. "I miss you, Dad," she said softly. By this time last year she had already taken dozens of pictures. Ever since she could remember, she and Dad had been a team, searching the woods behind the house each weekend for a glimpse of the special wood warbler（林中莺）.

Ally reached for the first photo album she and Dad had put together. On the cover a tiny orange bird with blue-gray wings and sharp black eyes peered out of the photo her father had clipped from a local newspaper. Ally smiled, remembering the excited look on his face when he first showed her the pretty bird. "Ally, I bet if we search real hard, we'll see this little guy together some day."

They'd never spotted the warbler, but her father had an amazing way of making each outing seem special. Staying with Dad, Ally felt comfortable. "If only I could get that good feeling back," she thought, sighing.

Staring at the bird, suddenly, she knew exactly what she had to do. Grabbing the-little flag, she placed her camera around her neck and hurried outside. Ally stuck the flag among the flowers in the garden. "Please let me see the warbler," she murmured to herself. She gave her worried Mom a kiss and then set off into the woods.

Familiar smells of the earth rose up to greet her.

Determined to start out the next morning, she was about to head home when a ringing birdsong floated down to her.

Yumi stood at the door of the cabin (小屋).She watched black clouds roll across the sky. "This has been an awful vacation, she said to Mei. “We've been in this cabin all week because of this rain. Then I wanted to go into town with Mom and Dad today, but you got sick."

"I couldn't help it,"   Mei cried.

Yumi didn't listen to her. “My friend Sue is lucky. She's an only child. She never has to miss out on things because of a little sister,"   she said.

With an angry click, she turned on the radio. “Word is just in,"   a man said. “There is a chance of a flash flood in Green Valley. The water in Copper Lake has reached the top of the dam. The dam could give way at any time. People in Green Valley are in danger. They should move to high ground right away. "

“Should we leave?” Mei asked.

“No, Mom and Dad will be home soon. I don't want to leave until they get here, ” Yumi answered.

Yumi was upset. Every past year she loved their vacations in Green Valley. But this year the rain spoiled(毁掉)everything. The sky grew darker. Heavy rain beat against the windows, and thunder shook the cabin. "Yumi, I'm scared," Mei said. “What if the dam breaks?”

“It won't," Yumi said. She hoped Mei believed her. Yumi didn't want Mei to know how scared she was.

The radio stopped in the middle of a song. A man came on the air talking loud and fast. “The Copper Lake Dam has broken. Everyone in Green Valley must move to high ground NOW!”

Yumi's heart raced. "Let's get out of here!” she cried. She took Mei's arm and pulled her outside. They could hear a terrible roar(咆哮)coming from the far end of the valley. Yumi and Mei dashed up the muddy road behind their cabin. The thundering roar grew louder. Yumi looked back. The wall of water was coming faster. It seemed to be swallowing all of Green Valley. In another minute it would hit them.

Yumi saw a large tree just ahead.

In a short time the flood water began to go down.

Pumpkin (南瓜) carving at Halloween is a family tradition. We visit a local farm every October. In the pumpkin field, I compete with my three brothers and sister to seek out the biggest pumpkin. My dad has a rule that we have to carry our pumpkins back home, and as the eldest child I have an advantage-I carried an 85-pounder back last year.

This year, it was hard to tell whether my prize or the one chosen by my 14-year-old brother, Jason, was the winner. Unfortunately we forgot to weigh them before taking out their insides, but I was determined to prove my point. All of us were hard at work at the kitchen table, with my mom filming the annual event. I’m unsure now why I thought forcing my head inside the pumpkin would settle the matter, but it seemed to make perfect sense at the time.

With the pumpkin resting on the table, hole uppermost, I bent over and pressed my head against the opening. At first I got jammed just above my eyes and then, as I went on with my task, unwilling to quit, my nose briefly prevented entry. Finally I managed to put my whole head into it, like a cork (软木塞) forced into a bottle. I was able to straighten up with the huge pumpkin resting on my shoulders.

My excitement was short-lived. The pumpkin was heavy. “I’m going to set it down, now,” I said, and with Jason helping to support its weight, I bent back over the table to give it somewhere to rest. It was only when I tried to remove my head that I realized getting out was going to be less straightforward than getting in. When I pulled hard, my nose got in the way. I got into a panic as I pressed firmly against the table and moved my head around trying to find the right angle, but it was no use. “I can’t get it out!” I shouted, my voice sounding unnaturally loud in the enclosed space.

It was five or six minutes though it felt much longer.

The video was posted the Monday before Halloween.

An 80­year­old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45­year­old highly educated son．Suddenly a crow(乌鸦) perched on their window.

The father asked his son，“What is this？”The son replied，“It is a crow.”

After a few minutes，the father asked his son the 2nd time，“What is this？”The son said，“Father，I have just now told you‘It's a crow.’”

After a little while，the old father again asked his son the 3rd time，“What is this？”

At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the son's tone when he said to his father with a rebuff.“It's a cow，a cow.”

A little while later，the father again asked his son the 4th time，“What is this？”

This time the son shouted at his father.“Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again，although I have told you so many times‘IT IS A CROW’．Are you not able to understand this？”

A little while later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary，which he had maintained since his son was born.

On opening a page，he asked his son to read that page.

When the son read it，the following words were written in the diary：

“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa，when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was，and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated but I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”

After reading the diary，

Feeling ashamed，the son got down on his knees before his father.