Sometime ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired, as there are a lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception.  I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

    The second shop, though a little more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth. I realized that my approach must be wrong so I decided to try another way. I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind.  I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair? Twenty pounds," I said. "OK. I'll give you twenty pounds for it,"he said. "It's got a slightly broken leg," I added. "Yes, I saw that.  It's nothing," the shopkeeper replied.

    Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell after the repair is done.""I'll buy it," I said.  "What do you mean? You've just sold it to me," the man asked in surprise.  "Yes, I know. But I've changed my mind.  I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." "You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. He shouted, "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You're right,"I said, "And what would you have said if I had walked in and asked you to repair my chair?" "I wouldn't have agreed to do it. We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble.  But I'll repair this for you.  Five pounds will be the cost,"the man answered. He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

    Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

For years I wanted a garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

    But then we had Mathew， and Marvin， and the twins -- Alisa and Alan， and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

    Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little， one of them would want something that cost too much， I'd have to say，"Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees， you know."

    Finally， all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.

    Then， one spring morning， on Mother's Day， I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly， I looked out of the window and there was a new tree， planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

    I went out to look. It was true! There were dollar bills， one hundred of them， hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them， "Thank you for your time， Mom. We love you!"

    Later， my children bought me tools， ornaments（装饰品）， a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.

    That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty， just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers， I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me. Now every year when winter comes， I look out of my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me， and I get tears in my eyes -- every time.

    I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

    A 2-year-old boy is being described as a hero after using Face Time to save his mother after she was badly hurt.

    According to a report from KGUN, Laura was trying to stop a fight between two dogs when one of the dogs bit(咬) part of her middle finger almost completely off.

    Laura tried to call 911 herself, but she said her hands were too badly hurt to make the call. "I asked my daughters to call 911, and they're four, and they were quite afraid to even touch the phone, because it was covered in my blood(血) ," Laura told KGUN.

    The mother continued to lose a lot of blood and thought she would go into a deep sleep--until her 2-year- old son Bentley came up with a dishcloth from the kitchen. After cleaning some of the blood off his mother's iPhone, Bentley continued to use Face Time to call Laura's friend Connie.

    "All I could see was his little forehead. I said 'Hi Bentley' and it was quiet for a little bit. Then I heard Laura shouting," Connie told KGUN.

    Connie then called 911, and Bentley unlocked the door to let firefighters into the house.

    Laura told KGUN she is very thankful for her little hero and has since taught all of her children how to call 911.

    Maybe we three were the most unlucky graduates in our school history. I'll never forget the day when we had our graduation ceremony(毕业典礼).

    I was known for being careless. I often fell down for no reason. Since I fell off the stage(舞台)during my Primary Graduation Ceremony, my family bet(打赌)that I would fall down again during my next graduation ceremony. The day came so quickly. This time, I proudly made it through the whole ceremony without falling. but I knocked over the whole backdrop (背景板)used to take pictures for graduates! I felt so embarrassed (尴尬的)the whole morning.

    My friend Julia was even more embarrassed. When she together with all the graduates was sitting quietly in the hall at eight in the morning, she didn't expect her father to come to attend her ceremony because he was really busy then. The hall was very quiet and you could even hear a pin(针)drop on the ground. When all of a sudden, out of the silence, she heard "Hey,

    Julia!" Everyone in the hall looked behind and found Julia's father, with a camera in his hand, smiling at her!

    Tiffany was the most beautiful girl of us three. She loved all kinds of dresses. On that day, she dressed herself beautifully and wanted to have some beautiful photos. Unluckily, it was one of the windiest days of our life. The wind blew her beautiful dress up in front of the whole graduate class! She didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

    Lucky? Unlucky? So lucky! All of these became the unforgettable part of our life!