Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
Sam worked as a gardener and was trying to raise money for his sick mother. One day, his mother called him and he just assured her on the phone that he was going to get the money for her medicine, and that everything would be all right. Then as he returned his phone to his pocket, he discovered that Mr. Smith’s daughter, Jane, was standing right behind him. She was 12 years old and surprisingly kind.
“Hey, Sam, do you need money for something?” Jane asked him. Sam nodded.“Yes, my mom is sick. But this job in your garden is totally going to help us and your garden is going to be the prettiest in the neighborhood.” Jane nodded with pursed lips (噘嘴) and started to talk about gardening.
The following day, Sam arrived at the garden and was met by a red-faced Mr. Smith, whose expression was full of anger. “You! You tricked my daughter into asking me for money! How dare you, you worthless man!” he yelled at Sam.
Sam raised his hands to defend himself. “No, sir. I never did that. I swear! I would never do that!” But Mr. Smith didn’t want to hear it. He shook his head, pointed his finger at Sam, and said, “I want you to finish today’s work because you left a horrible messy patch (小块) of dirt on the side of the house. It is so dirty. But it’s your last day here! Do you understand?”
Sam could only nod in shock, and Mr. Smith walked away, still angry at him. Sam felt so sad that he had just lost one of the best-paying jobs he had ever got. He hadn’t completed half of the project, and now he wouldn’t get enough for his mother’s treatment.
He wished Jane had never said anything, but she was a sweet young girl who only wanted to help. It wasn’t her fault. He walked to the house and inspected that patch of dirt, which looked new as if someone had worked on it the night before.
“Who put the dirt here? Is there anything special under the dirt?” he wondered.
Jane said, “These things are worth a lot of money and they are all for you, Sam.”
Yours,
Li Hua
When two-year old Frankie-Rae Hockney took her first shaky steps across the livingroom, her mother cried. Although watching a child walk for the first time is an exciting moment for any parent, for Mary-Ella Tuppenney-Hockney it was a milestone she neverthought her daughter would meet.
Frankie-Rae was born with a rare chromosomal anomaly (染色体异常) called 17p 13.1 microdeletion syndrome, of which there are only 21 known cases. Doctors explained that they only had five different case studies who had the condition and so there were lots of uncertainties about her future. As a result, when she was born, Mary-Ella, 36, and dad Ben Hockney, 37,were warned that she might never walk or talk. They both broke down in tears, not knowing what life would hold for their daughter.
Mary-Ella is a dance teacher and she runs her own dance school in Oxfordshire and so dancing is a huge part of their lives. So she thought it was heart-breaking to think that Frankie-Rae wouldnever be able to be part of that. However, Frankie-Rae quickly beganseeing experts in occupational health. Despite all her problems, she grew into such a happy, smiley little girl who loved listening to music and waving (挥舞) along to it.
“Because she couldn’t walk as she got bigger, we needed a special pushchair and the one available on the NHS wasn’t suitable for her needs,” Mary-Ella explains. Fortunately, the Carter Trust stepped in to give Frankie-Rae one that worked. It meant her parents could take her shopping with them on weekends and out to the park. It made such a huge difference to her and the family. But Mary -Ella felt guilty for taking the money from the charity.
That’s when Frankie -Rae’s elder sister Georgie-Ellyn, eight, came up with the idea of fundraising (募捐) for the charity that helped them. As a result, the family got together, organizing some activities such as selling second-hand clothes and books. They also held aparty inviting those who cared for the charity.
However, it was Frankie-Rae’s shaky steps that inspired people most.
Frankie Rae is such a smiley happy little girl that she brings hope to all that meet her.
I’m sorry to know that your best friend and you broke up over a small thing, for which you feel regret.
All the best.
Yours,
Li Hua
I am sorry to hear that you are going through a hard time at the moment.
Best wishes,
Li Hua
Grandma made a sweater for Dad as his birthday gift. It was PURPLE. Not just any purple. Shine-in-the-dark purple! Dad loved it. But I found it embarrassing.
He wore the sweater all the time: when he walked the dog, when he shopped for groceries, when he and Mom went on a date, and—worst of all—when he came to events at my school.
“Do you always have to wear that sweater?” I asked as we drove back from my school’s art show. He laughed. “It’s my favorite sweater, Jake!” “But it’s so ... purple!” I said.
I was glad when warm spring days arrived and he stopped wearing it. But once the weather cooled again, that purple sweater came out of hiding. I advised Dad to try other sweaters because the purple sweater looks like it’s from outer space. “That is half the reason I love it!” he said, smiling.
One day we visited Uncle Bill’s farm. When picking apples, Dad tore his sleeve (袖子) on a tree.
“Well, I guess you can’t wear the sweater anymore.” I said.
“It’s still a great sweater! I’ll just wear it around the house,” Dad said. And he did. Every night. Weekends too. The hole got bigger and bigger. The sleeve hung by threads (毛线).
One night, at dinner, the threads reached his plate of noodles. He turned around the noodles and threads onto his fork and opened his mouth. “Look out, Dad!” I shouted. “You’re about to eat your sweater.” Dad laughed and put his fork down. “It is impossible to save this sweater now,” he said and sighed.
After dinner, Dad was about to throw the sweater away. But he just stood there, looking sad. It made me sad too.
Suddenly a good idea hit me—using the sweater for the coming art show.
A few days later, Dad came to the art show when the teacher gave out awards.