As we know, it is important to be honest with children. But there are some things in this world that simply aren't 1 . Sometimes it makes sense for parents to2to their children.

    I still remember my three-year-old daughter's face when we watched the 3that twenty children at Sandy Hook Elementary School had been killed. After a few minutes she 4and put her5arms around my legs and said, “I love you, Momma.” I was still 6whether or not to turn the TV off when she, 7, asked, “Momma, why aren't those kids OK?” I just 8that they were smart children,9 they did something wrong and got punished.

    We're not all 10of a little lie here and there. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Snow White are just a few examples of 11for parents to keep magic in the world. Magic, imagination and creativity are very essential in life, 12 for children. These stories battle against the negative aspects of the world and create 13. In the end children will be able to 14what is true and what was made to 15their lives. Out of five brothers and a sister I can happily report that not one of the children I grew up with was16when we discovered who all those17people really were.

    In life, a parent is the 18of knowledge, and it is up to the parent to decide what knowledge to teach and when. There's no 19to tell children all about the truth. As they become20, they will have a better understanding of the world.

    When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out to be quite1. The fourth grade even found him at the2of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but it did not3—until one stormy afternoon.

    On that afternoon, 4the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts, dark clouds

    covered the sky, and the storm set in. Hard though she tried to make the kid, 5, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one6the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood them and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back, and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. 7by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time was followed by the time for8. All children naturally drew9pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.

    Since then, Joe started10. Though he never made it to the top, his math teacher was always11and curious about the change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

    On the day Joe graduated, he presented the teacher with his most12possession—the picture of a bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I13my brightness.

Crayon Crisis

    The telephone rang. It was my sister, who was working in an elementary school. She told me she used my crayon 1 again.

    Over 40 years ago, I sat in my first-grade classroom2 the teacher asked me to go to the principal's office. I was shy. And I hated to be  3 For me, being called to the principal's office was my worst dream.

    When I pushed open the door, it was worse than I thought. Seated in front of the principal's desk were my 4 My father walked straight over to me. Holding my drawings, he asked, “Why do you only use a black crayon when you draw?" I couldn't speak.

    “5 me your desk,” said my father.

In my classroom, my father pulled out my crayon box from my desk. A single nub of a crayon rested in his palm—it was black.6, my father asked, “Where are the rest of your crayons? ”

    I quietly explained that I'd given all the other crayons to friends. I'd been   7 like my parents had taught me. My father let out a deep 8“You were sharing?”

    I nodded my head.

Back to the office, I looked at my father, then at the principal—both their faces were 9The principal whispered that I could go. I waved goodbye to my parents. My mother waved back, but I couldn't get my father's 10 he was glaring at the principal.

    I learned years later that my father's face was red due to 11 and the principal's was red due to embarrassment. The principal,12 seeing all my artwork done in black crayon, assumed (猜想) that I had deep emotional problems. He had called my parents in to discuss “my 13” and to suggest some psychological counseling (心理咨询).

    I was too afraid to say that I only had one crayon left. I was too shy to ask for my “shared” crayons back. Because I didn't 14 up for myself, others assumed the worst.

    Today my sister tells her students, “Don't be 15 to speak up. If you don't, I just might make the wrong assumption. Let me tell a story about my sister, when she was around your age...”

    I was sitting in the far back in a pizza house when I noticed the man, about thirty years old, carrying a pizza box. He sat down at the table to my right and then 1 his large dirty paper bag of clothing down on the floor. Obviously, this man was homeless and 2 a bath. He picked up the one small slice（薄片）of pizza and very slowly, very carefully, he began to eat, taking very little 3.

    He finally finished his meal and did something that I would never 4. He turned the box on its corner and slid the few5bits into one corner. Then he 6 his index finger（食指）and tried to pick up the small bits.

    Oh, how much it hurt me once again to see myself 7 I was thirty years ago. No food, no 8, and no clean clothes. Most of my past life had always been 9 to that of the young man and it all came back to me 10. The muscles in my neck began to tighten and my eyes began to burn and water up. I coughed a bit, trying to clear my 11 and get myself back together.

    I got four large slices of pizza from the counter and sat them down on his table, saying, “I thought you 12 like to have a few slices.”

    I did not stop at all but walked around behind him. As I passed him, I reached out and13him on the back, just one time, very softly with my hand. I hope that man knows that someone, someplace,14 him as a human being. And I am so 15 that I have never forgotten what it feels like to be down, out, dirty and hungry.

    A talented actor, producer, and singer, Will Smith is a success. In fact, his huge success can1back to some valuable lessons life taught him early on.

    Once Will's father2him an outdoor project. He had to rebuild a long 3wall in the yard. He had to4concrete and place one brick at a time, eventually covering the entire wall. Will felt surprised at their father's demand5 he couldn't even think of completing a project as big as this. However, with the 6of "one brick more", he completed it in six months. Will who7was so pessimistic about the job, felt a sense of 8 , and so did his father. Even today when Will thinks that he won't be able to do 9, he looks back to it and10himself, "one brick at a time."

    As a refrigeration engineer, Will's father often11stores to install freezers. Will mostly12his father. During one such visit, both Will and his father were installing a freezer in a supermarket basement and the employees had 13a rat killing solution across the floor. Both Will and his dad went in 14the place for the compressor(压缩机), and they found a dead rat. Will's dad had to 15the exact place where the rat had died; his dad, 16 even the slightest hesitation held the dead rat with his bare hands. He removed the17and fixed the compressor. This taught Will that one should never 18 about life. this made him realize the value of 19and hard work.

    Every successful man is shaped right from his 20. To achieve dreams, one should be disciplined and determined.

    I had driven home to celebrate my 38th birthday with my mother. When I arrived, I found her 1 proudly at the kitchen table, a chocolate cake and two boxes wrapped orange ribbon (丝带)in front of her. "Happy birthday!" she said,2 at the boxes. "Open them."

    As she knows me 3 than anyone, she'd gotten me exactly what I wanted—running clothes. I 4 her and thanked her and proceeded (接着)to eat the cake.

    "Too many 5 ," I said, not really caring.

    You'll run them off tomorrow," Mom said.

Many adult children with a parent suffering from 6 memory will tell you there was one day that 7 to them that their relationship with their mother or father would be forever changed.

    For me that day8two weeks later, when I drove back for another short9. I came upon exactly the same 10 : my mom sitting at the kitchen table; a chocolate cake resting next to two 11 wrapped in curly ribbon. The ribbon was green this time. That was the only12"Happy birthday!" my mom said.

    I was totally 13 . What's going on?" I asked.

    Mom smiled. "Can't I celebrate my daughter's birthday?"

    This was no 14 . This was real life, and since my mother clearly only wanted to make me 15 , I pushed aside my fear and fulfilled my role as the 16 daughter. I hugged her, thanked her and 17 the clothes... I did not mention to her that we'd done all this two 18 ago.

    My house is her world now. My mother and I have the 19conversation roughly 10 times a day.20, I consider it a pleasure, because every minute is new for her.