I will never forget the tenth summer of childhood with my grandfather in western Norway at the mountain farm where my mother was born. As a boy ,I always thought people simply bought whatever they need. Whether Grandfather knew this, I don't know. One day he said, ”Come, I have something for you.”

I followed him to a workroom. “You should have a toy boat. You can sail it at Storvassdal.” He said. Great, I thought,looking around for the boat. But there was none.

Grandfather pointed to a block of wood. “The boat is in there,” he said. Then he handed me some tools and showed me how to use them properly. “It'll be a fine boat,and you'll make it with your own hands,” he said,”No one can give you what you do for yourself.”The words rang in my head as I worked. Finished the boat. It wasn't much to look at ,but I was poud. Then I sailed it at Storvassdal.

We had to return to America. “You cannot bring that boat home with you,” my mother said. We already had too much baggage. Feeling sad, I hid my boat under a big rock at Storvassdal.

I said good-bye to Grandfather, not knowing I would never see him again.

In 1964, I went to Storvassdal with my parents and my wife and children. To my surprise,for 34 years my treasure stayed here,waiting for my return. I felt we three were togethet again although my grandfather had died 22 years before.

I carved "1930”and "1964”on its side and put it back.

I returned to the lake in 1968,1971,1977 and 1988. Each time I had the boat and carved the year,my grandfather seemed near.

My last trip to Storvassdal was in 1991. I brought my granddaughters: Catherine,13; Claire,12. I hoped they would understand the importance of the little boat and its simple message. At Storvassdal, Claire said softly, ‘Grandpa,someday I'll come back.' She added,”And I'll bring my children.”

    A long time ago, there lived a very old man. He was so old that he could not see or hear very well. He also could not walk very well, or eat very well for his hand shook. The old man's son and daughter-in-law thought he might make trouble at table. So, they had him eat his meals in the corner of the kitchen without a table.

    They gave him very little to eat. The old man would have a sad look on his face as he looked at his son and daughter-in-law's dinner table. One day the old man's hand shook so terribly that he dropped his dish on the floor. The daughter-in-law became angry and shouted at the old man. And after that, his meals were served in a broken dish.

    Not long afterwards, the family was sitting having their dinner while the four-year-old grandson was sitting on the floor carefully checking pieces of wood. The father asked, “What are you doing?” “I am making a small bowl.”

    “Why are you making it?” The son answered. “So that I can fill it with your and mother's food when I grow up.”

    The old man's son and daughter-in-law looked at one another and without saying a word started crying. The two quickly brought their old father to their dinner table. From that day on, the old man sat with the family when they had their meals. Even when the old man's food fell here and there, the son and the daughter-in-law did not say anything.

    John is thirteen now. He began to study in a middle school two years ago. His home is in a small village and it's nearly five kilometers from the school. He has to get up early in the morning.

    After a quick breakfast he has to run to school and get there on time. His father hopes to borrow some money to buy a bike for him, but he knows his mother is always ill and his father spends much money on medicine. He doesn't agree with his father and keeps running there every day. Now he's very strong. He is never late for class and his teachers often praise him.

    Last week there was a sports meeting in his school. John ran faster than any other boy and won the boy's 800 meters, 1, 500 meters and 3, 000 meters. The whole school knew him. He was very happy. He told his grandma about the good news as soon as he got home.

    "I broke two school records（记录）today, Granny," called out the boy.

    To his surprise, the old woman wasn't happy. She thought for a while and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. We have no money to pay for them, you know!"

    After returning from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. "The railway owes me 12 pounds," she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. "You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me 12 pounds. "

    Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam," he said politely. "' I'll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd." The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sunburnt(晒黑的) , "he said to her. "Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?"

    "Yes," she answered, shyly. "The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!"

    "That's fine," said Harry. '" My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three…"

    "I'm four," the child said proudly. "I'll be four and a half."

    Harry turned to the mother. "I remember your ticket, Madam," he said. "But you didn't get one for your daughter, did you?"

    "Er, well..." the woman looked at the child. "I mean...she hasn't started school yet, she's only four. "

    "A four- year- old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs...let me see.13.50 pounds. The law is the law, but since the mistake is mine."

    The woman stood up, took the child's hand and left the office.

Today is my birthday and I am having a great time at the zoo with my dad. 

There are many lovely animals in the zoo, like monkeys, pandas and giraffes. I see some people feeding them with our food. I'm going to fed them. "It is not right to feed them with our food, " he says. 

"Why shouldn't I do so?" I turn to my dad and ask him. 

"Because it can make them sick when they are not getting the right food. For example, chocolate is children's favorite, but it is not good for many animals. So we should protect them and feed them with their own food. " he explains. 

"Sorry, Dad. Now I know it is important to understand that animals need to eat right. I won't do that again because it is bad for them. And thank you for telling me that. "

My dad smiles and says, "Good for you, Jim. I am so happy that you are learning to think about the result before you do something. We can help the animals by being responsible for their health. What's more, instead of waiting for someone to feed them. I think you should keep in mind that animals are our friends, and we should help them to live freely and naturally. "

I am glad to have such a meaningful conversation with my dad, because he teaches me how to take care of animals. 

① The first wonderful Chinese garden in the English city of Cambridge was open during the fourth annual (年度的) Cambridge Xu Zhimo Poetry (诗歌) and Art Festival.

② The China-UK Friendship Garden is also known as Xu Zhimo Garden. People build this garden to remember the late Chinese poet Xu Zhimo, an associate member (准成员) of King's College from 1921 to 1922. 

③ In 1928, after Xu's third visit to the English city, he wrote the poem Second Farewell to Cambridge (《再别康桥》). It is very famous and popular not only in China but also all over the world. This poem shows his true love for Cambridge, as well as his own thoughts and feelings about his first love. 

④ The poem's first and last lines have been carved (雕刻) into a granite stone (花岗岩). Since the garden opened, it has become one of Cambridge's most popular places. 

⑤ Steven Coghill is a gardener at King's College. And he first brought out the idea to create the Xu Zhimo Garden. It took him 3 years to plan and build the garden, and it has many trees and flowers that grow naturally in Zhejiang Province. Steven Coghill wants to build a garden to remember Xu Zhimo, because he really has a deep love for Chinese culture and Xu's poems.