The message was short. I read it three times: "Hey, Mom, can I come to see you guys?"I wrote back: "Yes!”He said he hoped to make it in time for dinner.　

 I made a quick run to the market, put sheets on the guest bed and set the TV to record the Warriors' game, so if traffic was awful, he wouldn't have to miss the first half. Then I began cooking, cleaning, watching the clock and listening for his footsteps coming up the walk.

 It's called waiting. I'm good at it. When he was a newborn, I'd wait for him to go to sleep. Soon then I'd stand by his bed waiting for him to wake up. I waited, as he learned to do things like walking , talking and feeding himself; throwing a ball, riding a bike and reading a book.

 I waited for him to start preschool, primary school, middle school and college.

 I waited with dread for him to start driving. And I waited up every time he came home late.

I wait for my son to grow up, but that doesn't mean the waiting game is over. It never really ends.

 Mothers wait for all kinds of reasons—good news or bad, happiness or heartache. But the waiting is soon forgotten, usually, the minute a long awaited child walks through the door.

 My boy will be here soon. But if he's late, I can wait. I'm good at it. And he's worth it. I will always leave a light on for him. 

   One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench with a hat by his feet and a sign that read, "I am blind. Please help me.”
A creative publicist(广告员)named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own corns in the hat. Without asking for permission, took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man, and left.
   Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized(识别)his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.
The publicist said, "I just wrote the message a little differently.” He smiled and went on his way.
   The new sign read, "Spring has come, but I can't see anything.”

    More than anything else in the world, Lion liked being King of the jungle.  He walked around, showing off his power and pride.

    Each day Lion took a long lazy sleep under the shade of his favorite tree.  He always dreamed of weaker animals bowing(鞠躬) before him.

    One day Mouse ran through the jungle and tripped over Lion's huge paws.  Lion woke up with a start. “How dare you wake me up!” he shouted angrily. Lion grabbed(抓住) Mouse with one paw. “On the second thought, I'm in the mood for the snack, and you'll make a delicious meal.” he said.

    Mouse cried out, “King Lion, please spare（饶恕） me! If you let me live, I'll always remember your kindness.  And, some day, I might be able to help you.”

    “How could such a powerless little mouse ever help me?” That thought made Lion laugh so much that he decided to let Mouse go.  A week later, Lion was walking through the jungle on the way to his favorite tree when he stepped onto a hunter's net.  The net scooped him up. No matter how he twisted (扭动) and turned, he couldn't escape.

    When Mouse heard Lion's frightened shouts, he raced to help. Mouse quickly chewed（咬）through the ropes to make a hole in the net.  Soon, Lion moved out and was free. Lion looked down at the little mouse. “Thank you for saving my life,” said Lion, smiling his widest smile.  “I was mistaken.  You are not a powerless little mouse. You are a great friend!”

    We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.

    It stood outside a furniture shop. "Buy it," she said at once. "We'll carry it home on the roof-rack(车顶架). I've always wanted one like that."

    What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied onto the roof-rock. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy, too.

    As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

    After a time my wife said, "There's a long line of cars behind. Why don't they overtake(超车)?"

    Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile, they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me. "Right, Sir," he said. "Do you need any more help now?"

    I didn't quite understand. "Thanks, officer," I said. "You've been very kind. I lived just down the road."

    He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. "Well, well," he said and laughed. "It's a bookshelf you've got there! We thought it was something else. "My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here.

    I smiled at the officer. "Yes, it's a bookshelf, but thanks again." I drove home as fast as I could.

A young man with a large bag on his back came far away for a master(大师). He said, "Master, I feel so lonely(孤独的) and painful that the long trip makes me tired out. My shoes are worn out, my feet are cut, and my hands also hurt… Why can't my heart feel sunny?"

The master asked, "What do you put in your large bag?"

The young man said,"It is very important to me. Inside it I put the pain each time I fall, the tears(眼泪) each time I'm hurt, the trouble each time I feel lonely…Without it, I can't come here."

Then the master took the young man to the river where they crossed in a boat. On the other side of the river, the master said,'"Carry on with your journey, carrying the boat!"

"What? Carry the boat?" the young man was surprised. "It is so heavy. How can I carry it?"

"Yes, my kid. You can't carry it," the master just smiled and said. "When you cross the river, the boat is useful. But after crossing it, you will put down the boat and carry on. If not, it will become a burden (负 担). Pain, loneliness and tears — all these are useful to life. They can improve your life, but if you carry them all the time, they will become the burden to life. Put it down! Life can't bear(承受) a heavy burden."

The young man put down his bag and carried on. He walked easily and happily, and much faster than before.