"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the baby was lying in her arms and she moved the cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped(吃力地喘着气). The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Luckily, time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. Though the misfortune(不幸)happened to him, he grew into a handsome boy. Yet he felt ashamed when he communicated with others.
    "You should get in touch with other young people," his mother told him, with a kindness in her heart. The boy's father talked with the family doctor about his ears. "Could nothing be done?"the father asked. "I believe I could give him a pair of outer ears, if they could be got," the doctor replied.
    Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You are going to the hospital, Son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need, but it's a secret."The operation is a big success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic(外交的) service. One day, he asked his father, "Who gave the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her."
    "You could, my son," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know…not yet."
    The years kept their secret, but one of the darkest days did come. He stood with his father over his mother's casket(棺材). Slowly, the father stretched forth(伸出) a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal the mother had no outer ears.
    "Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," his father whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?"

     A priest (神父) lived with his small white cat. One day, the cat climbed up a tree and was afraid to come down. The priest called its name and gave it its favourite drink, warm milk, but the cat still didn't come down. So the priest decided to tie rope (栓一根绳子) between his car and the tree. He thought as he drove, the tree would bend down (弯曲) and he could get the cat. He did so. But he drove too far, and the rope broke (断).

    The tree went "boing!" and the cat went through the air. The priest couldn't see it. He felt terrible. He walked around and asked people if they'd seen his cat. But nobody had seen it. At last, he said, "God (上帝), I just give this cat to your keeping."

    A few days later, he met one of his friends in a shop. He saw cat food in her shopping bag. This woman didn't like cats and everyone knew it, so he asked her in surprise, "Why are you buying cat food?"

    She answered, "My little girl always wanted a cat, but I didn't agree. Then a few days ago, she asked again. I told her if God gave her a cat, she could keep it. She went out of the house and said something to the sky. Then suddenly a cat flew out of the blue sky and landed in front of her. "

    The priest smiled and said, "How lucky your little girl is!" Then he went on shopping.

Qu Juanru is the official inheritor(官方继承人) of Jiaxing City Tongxiang flower­drum opera. She began to be on the stage when she was a teenager. "My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since then. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. However, my father always supported me when I tried to sing," Qu said.

Qu started performing in the local troupe(剧团) called Aimin Flower­Drum Opera. Later, the troupe was disbanded(解散), and she went back to farming.

After that, the young girl tried to set up the troupe several times but failed. She really lived a hard life at that time. But she didn't give up.

In 2001, some developers planned to rebuild Wuzhen. They thought a place which has no culture is of little significance(意义). So they wanted to bring back local customs, including the Tongxiang flower­drum opera. Qu was their only hope.

Knowing she could sing again, Qu was so excited. Whether it's cold or hot, Qu always gives her everything on stage in Wuzhen. She has six rounds(场) of performing every day and each round lasts 30 minutes. In 2017, she was badly ill, yet it didn't stop her.

"I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be here," Qu said. In her opinion, opera life is a wonderful dream that can't be missed.