My mother only had one eye. I never wanted her to show up at my school.

One day during primary school, I was terribly ill. My mother came.

“Your mom only has one eye!” yelled some of my classmates. I wished my mother would have just disappeared (消失)

“If you embarrass (使……尴尬) me, why don't you just die?” I shouted at her, taking no notice of the sad look on her face. My mother just handed me some medicine and left without saying anything.

At that time, I didn't think I had hurt her feelings very much. That night I saw my mom crying in her room. Even so, I hated her tears from one eye. I made a decision: I must study hard and leave my mother.

Years later my dream came true. I was quite successful. I never thought of going back to see my “ugly" mother until one day I got a letter.

“My son ，I'm sorry I only have one eye. When you were little, you got into an accident and lost your eye. As a mom, I couldn't stand watching you live with only one eye. So I gave you mine.

I was never angry with you and I never regretted it because I love you.”

I cried out aloud. Only then did I realise how beautiful my mother was!

    One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said. “Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn't worth the trouble.” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the pennies he bought some grapes.

    It was very hot, and there wasn't a house or a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time. his father dropped a grape on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another grape and once again. His son picked it up and put it in his mouth.

    And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the grapes and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the grapes, his father said to him. “My dear son, if you had bent down early to pick up that horseshoe. It would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the grapes, always remember the lesson(教训):  A person who does not worry about the little things

    will find that he can not do the great things.”

    This story happened three years ago. Jack was an eight-year-old boy at that time. He was a good pupil. He was good at every subject at school. But he could not get up early. He often slept until nine or ten o'clock in the morning. So he was often late for school.

    Jack's mother didn't want him to be late for school again. So she bought him a clock. She said to him,“ You must get up when you hear the clock ring.”

    “Yes, Mum.” said Jack. After that Jack got up at twenty to seven when he heard the clock ring.

    One day his mother forgot to make the clock ring at the usual time. And the next morning Jack didn't get up. It was six forty-two at that moment. It was time for breakfast. Mother went to see him. Jack was still in bed and his eyes were open.

    “Why didn't you get up?” Mother was angry.

    “You told me to get up when I heard the clock ring. So I am waiting for the bell.”

    “Mum, is the clock still sleeping?” Jack asked.

    Whenyou enter my home for the first time, you will always be impressed with a smalland white envelope（信封）. No name, no address. Ithas hung on our Christmas tree for about 10 years.

    Itall began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn't hate the truemeaning of Christmas, but the commercial（商业的） way ofit, spending too much on the usual Christmas gifts, such as rushing into astore to buy a tie for Uncle Harry.

    Knowinghe felt this way, I decided not to buy the usual gifts, such as shirts andsweaters. I reached for something special for Mike. The idea came in an unusualway.

    Ourson Kevin, 12, was wrestling（摔跤） at the school. BeforeChristmas there was a match against a team helped by a city church, mostly poorkids. As the match began, I was surprised to see the other team wrestling onlywearing the old clothes because they couldn't afford the wrestling uniforms, whileour boys in their blue and gold uniforms. Of course, we ended up with beatingthem.

    Mike,seated beside me, shook his head sadly," I wish just one of them couldhave won. In fact, they could if they had worn the uniforms. They have talentfor wrestling, but losing like thiscould take the heart right out of them."

    Mikeloved kids-all kids and he knew them, having trained kids football andbaseball. At that time, I thought of the idea for the gift.

    Thatafternoon, I went to a store and bought some wrestling uniforms and sent themto the city church for the kids without leaving my name.

    OnChristmas Eve, I put the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mikewhat I had done and telling him that this was his gift from me. His smile was thegreatest thing about Christmas that year and the next years.

    Yousee, we lost Mike now. But every Christmas Eve I would put an envelope on thetree, and in the morning, three more joined it. Each of our children hadsecretly put an envelope on the tree for their dad.

    Mike'sspirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

    "Look here, Watson," Holmes said after we finished lunch. "Please sit down. I want to talk to you. I don't know what to do, and your advice is important to me. You smoke your cigar (雪茄烟) while I explain."

    "Please continue," I said, as I lit my cigar.

    "Now there're a few important points in young James' story. One, his father cries Coo-ee before he sees him. Two, he talks about a rat (老鼠). I think young James is telling the truth (真相)."

    "So why did Mr. McCarthy shout Coo-ee then?"

    "Well, he was not shouting Coo-ee to his son. It was by chance that James heard. The Coo-ee was to call the person he was meeting. But Coo-ee is an Australian cry, Australians usually say it when they meet to catch attention. Perhaps Mr. McCarthy was meeting someone from Australia."

    "I see. But why did he talk about a rat, then?" I asked.

Holmes took a piece of paper from his pocket and put it on the table.

    "This is a map of Australia," he said. He put his hand over part of the map. "Now, Watson, what can you read there?" he asked me.

    "ARAT," I read.

    "And now?" Holmes moved his hand.

    "BALLARAT," I read.

    "Yes. That was the word the dead man said. It's a place called Ballarat. His son only heard the 'rat' part of the word. Old Mr. McCarthy was trying to say where his murderer was from, the town of Ballarat. The grey cloak is point No. 3. If James is telling the truth, there was a grey cloak (斗篷). So now we have an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak."

    "Great!" I replied.

    "And it's someone who lives nearby, as the Boscombe Pool isn't open to the public. Only people from the farm nearby or the Turner house can go there," said Holmes.

    "That's wonderful, Holmes!" I exclaimed.

    It is Sunday morning. Sam wants to visit his friend. On his way to his friend's home. He is very tired. So he stops his car and wants to take a nap(打盹).

    A man walks to Sam´s car and knocks(敲)on the window. "Excuse me. sir. "He asks." What time is it now?"

    Sam doesn't have a watch. He looks at the clock of his car and says. ”8:15”.  The man says," Thanks."

    After a short time, another man knocks on his window. "Sorry, sir. But do you have the time?""8:25". Sam say says and he is a little angry(生气的).  The man thanks him, too.

    "I really want to take a nap." Sam thinks. Then he takes out a pen and writes" I don't know the time." on the paper. And he posts(张贴)it on the window.  But soon another man sees it and knocks on the window. "Sir. sir? It's 8:45 now. "