The secret of happiness

    An old man walked slowly with a cane(手杖)into the restaurant .His old jacket, worn-out shoes and warm personality made him stand out from the usual crowd.

    A young waitress watched him move toward a table by the window. She ran over to him, and said: “Here, sir……let me help you with that chair.”

    Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded(点头)a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table and helped him sit. Then she put his came against the table.

    “Thank you, miss.”he said, kindly.

    “You're welcome, sir.”she said.

    After he had finished his breakfast, the waitress brought him the change(零钱)from his bill. He left it on the table. She helped him up and walked with him to the front door.

    When she went to clean his table, she found a business card under his plate and note on a napkin(纸巾). Under the napkin was a 100-dollar bill.

    The note on the napkin read: “Dear miss, I respect you very much and I can see you respect yourself, too. It shows by the way you treat others. (3)You have found the secret of happiness. Your kindness will shine through to all those who meet you.”

    The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she or any of the other workers had ever seen him in person.

    By Steve Brunkhorst

    An old man walked slowly into a restaurant with his cane(拐杖).His old jacket and shoes made him unusual that day.

    A young waitress named Mary watched him move towards a table by the window.She ran over to him,and said with smile,“Here,sir.Let me give you a hand."

    Without saying a word,he gave her a smile. She pulled the chair out from the table and helped him sit down. Then she put his cane against the table where he could reach ithimself. In a soft, clear voice he said,"Thank you." "You're welome, sir," she replied. I'll be back in a moment, and if you need anything, just wave(挥手) at me!"

    After he had finished a good meal,Mary brought him the change. She handed him his cane, and walked to the front door. Holding the door open for him, she said,“Come back and see us, sir! ”The old man turned around and smiled.

    When Mary went to clean his table, she was shocked. Under the plate, she found a business card, a 100—dollar and a note.The note said.

    “Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself, too. It shows the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness."

    In fact,the old man was the owner of the restaurant. That was the first time that she, or any of his waitresses, had seen him.

    One story about Jack, an Irishman（爱尔兰人）, who was not allowed into Heaven because he was stingy（吝啬） with his money. So he was sent to hell地狱. But down there he played tricks on the Devil (Satan) （魔鬼撒旦）, so he was kicked out of Hell and made to walk the earth forever carrying a lantern.

    Well, Irish children made Jack's lanterns on October 31st from a large potato or turnip（萝卜）, hollowed out with the sides having holes and lit by little candles inside. And Irish children would carry them as they went from house to house begging for food for the village Halloween festival that honored the Druid god Muck Olla（督伊德神）. The Irish name for these lanterns was "Jack with the lantern" or "Jack of the lantern," abbreviated as " Jack-o'-lantern" and now spelled "jack-o-lantern."

    The traditional Halloween you can read about in most books was just children's fun night. Halloween celebrations would start in October in every elementary（小学校） school. Children would make Halloween decorations, all kinds of orange-paper jack-o-lanterns. we went together to neighbors' houses, ringing their doorbell and yelling, "Trick or treat!" meaning, "Give us a treat (something to eat) or we'll play a trick on you!"

    The people inside were supposed to come to the door and comment（评价） on our costumes. Oh! here's a ghost. Oh, there's a witch. Oh, here's an old lady. Sometimes they would play along with us and pretend to be scared by some ghost or witch. But they would always have some candy and maybe an apple to put in our "trick or treat bags." But what if no one come to the door, or if someone chased us away?

    Then we'd play a trick on them, usually taking a piece of soap and make marks on their windows. And afterwards we would go home and count who got the most candy. One popular teen-agers' Halloween trick was to unroll a roll of toilet paper and throw it high into a tree again and again until the tree was all wrapped in the white paper. The paper would often stay in the tree for weeks until a heavy snow or rain washed it off.

    No real harm done, but it made a big mess of both the tree and the yard under it. One kind of Halloween mischief.

    It's very hot. An old man is sleeping on the chair. A fly(苍蝇) comes and sits on the end of the man's nose.The old man has a naughty monkey. He chases(驱赶) the fly.

    The fly comes back again and sits on the old man's nose again. The monkey chases it away again and again.

    This happens five or six times. The monkey is very angry. He jumps up, runs to the garden and picks up a large stone.

    When the fly sits on the old man's nose again, the monkey hits it hard with the stone.

    He kills the fly and breaks the old man's nose.

    Valentine's Day is a very old holiday. It goes back to the times of Ancient Rome (古罗马). One of the characters we often see on Valentine's Day is Cupid. He was the son of Venus, the goddess of love. He shoots people with arrows (箭) of love. When a man and a woman are hit by his arrows, they will fall in love.

Today people celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14. If a man and a woman are in love, they will give each other gifts. The most popular gifts are flowers (especially roses) and chocolates. Couples may also go to a restaurant for a very nice dinner or plan something else romantic.

    In the United States, Valentine's Day is not just for lovers. Children make special Valentine's cards for their classmates. Families and friends may give candy or other small gifts to each other. It can be a fun day.