David did well in all his subjects except physics, Mr. Brown, his physics teacher, gave him his physics paper and said to him, “Show it to your dad and ask him to sign his name on the paper.”

    David played football until it was 7 o'clock. When he got home, his parents had finished supper. His dad was watching TV and his mother was doing the dishes in the kitchen as usual.

 “Dad, may I ask you some questions?” David asked happily.

 “Yes, of course,” answered his dad.

 “If you can't answer them, you'll have to do something for me.”

 “OK, I'll do as you tell me,” said his dad.

 “Which is cooler, walking or sitting in the sun?”

 “Walking is cooler. It can make wind.”

 “Which clothes can keep out (阻挡）the sunlight，shirts or coats?”

 “Coats can keep out the sunlight because they are much thicker than shirts.” “Is a man smart if he wears a coat and walks in the sun in summer?” David looked at his dad and waited for his answer. His dad thought for a minute and shook his head.

   David took out his paper, “Now sign your name on the paper, please.”

    Ever since I was a child，my mouth has caused me trouble．I'm not a bad person；I have just had a hard time learning when to keep my mouth closed．

My mom has told me again and again，"Robert，your constant bad words are hurting me．If you continue to be this rude，you will get into big trouble．"

    It's been a problem at school several times，too，when teachers have told me something I didn't want to hear．I used to feel it was my duty to stand up for myself and tell them ______ off．

    One day in English class I began working on my homework until I heard a classmate talking behind me．It was Nathaniel，talking to himself as usual．

I said ever so nicely，"Nathaniel，would you be quiet?"

Nathaniel continued talking to himself．I quickly shouted，"Nathaniel，shut up!"

    For the next five minutes，we threw hurtful words back and forth at each other．

"At least I don't have an ugly lazy eye like you!"I shouted．

    I knew this would bother him deep inside．It would hurt his feelings and shut him up．

What I said filled him with anger．He tried to reach over my seat and grab me as he shouted．"That's it! That's it!"

    Surprised at his reaction，I sat back in seat．Never had I seen Nathaniel act like this before．

Later on，we were taken to the principal's office．

There，the principal told US to discuss the matter．It wasn't until then that I finally found that when I hurt someone physically，the wounds(伤口)eventually heal．But when I hurt them with my words，sometimes the pain never goes away．

    At the end of the discussion，I said sorry to Nathaniel．

    When I headed back to my room，I spent some time praying． I began to think about how often what I said hurt others．But I believe that as I keep praying and asking God to help me，he'll tell me when to keep my mouth closed．

    Several months ago, my husband and I were on an island for a long weekend with our five-year-old twin daughters. As we went back and talked about what to do next, our girls jumped in and told us exactly what they wanted to do. "We want to go to the butterfly museum," said Emily and Hanna.

    As soon as we walked into the main area of the museum, we saw thousands of beautiful butterflies. They all flapped (拍打) their colourful wings.

    My girls were jumping up and down, and I knew it was right for us to take them to the museum. They were having so much fun.

    I turned to our museum tour guide because I was curious (好奇的) and asked, "How long do butterflies live?"

    She said, "About ten days."

    "What can butterflies do in ten days?" I asked.

    The guide stopped, looked at me, and said, "They make the world a more beautiful place."

    "Wow," I said, "I never thought about butterflies like that. Thank you."

    After we said goodbye, I couldn't stop thinking about what the guide had said. She was right. We all have something to give the world with the time we have. When we put our gifts on taking care of each other every day, we can make a difference.

    Appreciate (欣赏) the impact (影响) you can have on your family, friends, co-workers and neighbours. Like a butterfly, you have your own way of making the world more beautiful for everyone.

    One day a king went to a faraway place in his country. When he came back, his feet hurt a lot. "There are too many small stones on the roads. They hurt my feet. You should cover every road with leather(皮革)," he told his men. Of course, it would cost a lot of money. One of his men was very smart. He told the king, "Why not cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?" The king was surprised, and he agreed to the man's idea. He asked his men to make a pair of leather shoes for him.

    Maybe this is not the beginning of leather shoes. But it teaches us a lesson of life: if you want to make this world a happy place to live in, the best way is to change yourself, not the world.

    A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. There was a young tree lying on the ground. The rich man asked the old man, "What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?

    "This is a fig(无花果)tree, sir," he said.

    "A fig tree?" the rich man was very surprised." How old are you, may I ask?"

    "I am ninety years old."

    "What!" shouted the rich man." You're ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree." The old man smiled and said, Tell me, sir, did you eat figs when you were a boy?" "Sure," the man did not know why he asked this question.

    The old man asked, "Who planted the fig trees?"

    "I don't know."

    " You see, sir," the old man said slowly," our forefathers(祖先) planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me."

    The rich man was quiet. Then he said, "You are right, my good man. We should do some things for the people after us. Thank you very much." Then he rode away.