As we all know, most of the time, something we consider as a weakness might not be a weakness at all! I didn’t know it until I read a story. There is a water carrier who had two large buckets, each _________ on one end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the buckets had a crack in it. The other bucket was _________ and always delivered a full portion of water at the _________ of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. But the cracked bucket _________ only half full.

The perfect bucket was _________ of its accomplishments, but the poor cracked bucket was ashamed of its own _________. It spoke to the water carrier one day. “I want to _________ to you.”

The carrier _________, “Why?” The bucket replied, “Because this crack in my side _________ water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. It is __________ because of my weaknesses that you don’t get full value for your __________.”

The water carrier felt __________ for the old cracked bucket, and said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to __________ the beautiful flowers along the path.” As they __________ up the hill, the old cracked bucket took notice of the sun __________ the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. “Did you know why? I __________ flower seeds on the path, and every day while we walk back from the __________, you’ve watered them on your side. ”

Each of us has our own __________. You may think that you are __________ or useless, but somehow these weaknesses can turn out to be a(n) __________.

My uncle was a quiet, cheerful man. He was ___with fishing, and it was one of our young life to ___him on his trip to the Country Brook. We were quite willing to work hard in the cornfield to finish the ___day’s labor in season for an afternoon leisurely walk through the woods and along the brook side.

I well remember my first fishing trip. I have ___been happier than when I received that first fishing pole from my uncle’s hand. It was a ___, sweet day of early summer; the long afternoon shadows of the trees lay cool across our path.   My uncle, who knew by long experience where the best place that pickerel (梭子鱼) frequently visited, ___placed me at the most favorable point.   I throw out my line as I had seen others, and waited ___for a bite. Nothing came of it. ＂Try again. ＂ said my uncle. Suddenly the bait (鱼饵) ___out of sight.   Thinking ＂a fish ___＂, I made a strong pull.   Unfortunately I brought up a tangle of weeds.   Again and again, I cast out my line with ____arms, and drew it back empty. Feeling ____, I looked at my uncle. ＂Try once more,＂ he said, ＂we fishermen must have patience. ＂

Suddenly something tugged my line. ＂Uncle!＂ I cried, looking back in uncontrollable ____, ＂I’ve got a fish!＂ ＂Not ____,＂ said my uncle.   As he spoke, the scared fish ____into the middle of the stream. I had lost my prize.   Therefore, overcome with bitter disappointment, I sat down in silence. My uncle refitted my bait, and told me to try my ____once more.

＂But remember, boy,＂ he said, with his wise smile, ＂never ____of catching a fish ____he is on the dry ground. Similarly, it is no use bragging of anything until it’s done, nor then, ____, for it speaks for itself. ＂

Whenever I hear people boasting of something, I always remember the ____by the brook side and the ____caution of my uncle: ＂NEVER BRAG OF YOUR FISH BEFORE YOU CATCH HIM. ＂

When my kids were young, I would sometimes wonder what I had done wrong when child after child was born into our family with far too high a dose (剂量) of “strong will”. I would_______observe other families whose children seemed so understanding and so easy to please. My kids, _______, were “spirited”. They hardly ever obeyed me, constantly testing my_______. It was their way or the highway or at least a lot of screaming and other such nonsense if their way was not acknowledged. I began to wonder if strong will was a genetic trait (遗传特性).

One Sunday, I was out in the hallway at church with Andrew, who was about 3 years old at the time, but who was so_______active and excited about small things. While he was screaming, a sweet elderly woman came up to me and said, “Your kids are so_______.”

I glanced down at my screaming baby, and_______if she was talking to the right person.

“They are brave and determined,” she went on, “which means that they will_______great things.”

I told her that I hoped she was right, and she_______repeated, with a loving smile, that she was. Quite_______, I was a little shocked at her timing. She had seen me come to church week after week, and watched me__________with my noisy troublemakers. She knew that I spent more time walking the halls__________ trying to keep them quiet than actually sitting in the meetings. I did not understand why she had picked that particular moment, when my patience was running out and my child was screaming, to tell me that my kids were full of __________.

As I realized not too late, “Strong-willed children are a__________, not a curse (诅咒)!” Yes, there have been times when I have__________wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream, and times when I have done just that. But there have__________been moments when I have felt like I was the student instead of the teacher.