Jonathan woke up and looked around. For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. Then he remembered. He and his sister, Julie were visiting Aunt Gwen. They had spent yesterday helping Aunt Gwen clean her basement. Today, they would have time to play.

He looked out of the window. Fresh snow covered the ground. He could hardly wait to go outside.

Jonathan dressed and hurried downstairs to the kitchen.

“HI, sleepyhead,” said Aunt Gwen. “Julie has already eaten her breakfast. She's outside.” “That's where I'm going as soon as I finish breakfast,” Jonathan said. A short time later, he zipped up his coat, put on his boots, and walked out of the front door. The sun made the snow shine.

He looked around. He didn't see his sister, but he saw something else. Strange footprints in the snow tracked across Aunt Gwen's yard.

“They're way too big to be Julie’s. They looked like they belonged to a dinosaur,” Jonathan said. Then he added, “But that's silly. Dinosaurs are not around anymore.” He looked closer. The footprints were the shape of a very large oval (椭圆形) with a stem. Maybe they belong to an elephant or a hippo that escaped from the zoo, he thought. He held his breath and listened. He didn't hear anything.

He remembered a book he'd seen earlier on Aunt Gwen's shelf. It was a book about animal tracks. He dashed inside to get it. The book had pictures of animals and the tracks they made. He turned the pages one by one, but none of the photos looked like the footprints in Aunt Gwen's yard.

He stared at those footprints again. An animal that made such big tracks would have to be heavy. Its tracks should sink far down into the snow. Yet these footprints seemed to skim (飞速擦过) across the top.

“How can that be?” he wondered.

Julie waved and said excitedly, “See what I found in Aunt Gwen's basement?”

Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.

The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”

“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”

The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.

“What is it?” asked the man kindly.

“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”

Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”

Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”

On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.

At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.

Eleven-year-old Kristina shouted on the phone. Vera, her mother, packing lunches for her two children, heard the shouting and dashed to Kristina. Kristina gave her the phone. Kristina was talking to her father at his doctor’s office in Moscow, Russia.

“Vlad, why is Kristina shouting?” began Vera in Russian.

“Vera, this afternoon I must attend a conference at her school. But I cannot be there. I have an important meeting. Why don’t you attend it?” Vlad replied.

“How can I go?”

“You are not going to a forest. You’ll be fine!”

“I know, but I can’t speak English properly. It’s a rule at her school.”

“You can manage. GO!”

Vera turned to Kristina, “Kristina, your father is busy. I will come instead of him.”

Kristina shouted, “Mother, you can’t speak English. How can you come to the conference? NO!” She plowed through her mother and ran sobbing. But Vera convinced Kristina. As there was no option, she agreed and left for school.

Vera was depressed. She felt that if only she knew English, she could avoid such situations. “But how is it possible for me to learn English while balancing so many tasks?” Suddenly, she realized that Andrei was getting late, so she got him ready and walked him to school.

In the afternoon, Vera attended the conference at the school. All the teachers and staff gave a warm welcome to Vera. Kristina kept quieting her mother. All she said were phrases like, “You are embarrassing!” “Stop talking!” and “You do not know English!” Ignoring her daughter’s comments, Vera managed to keep her cool and finished the meeting.

After delivering a cake to a customer, Vera went home to start dinner. At home, she asked her mother-in-law where Kristina was. She said that Kristina had gone to study with her friends. While they were talking, Kristina walked in.

Vera asked, “Why did you go out? You can study at home, you know!”

”I have doubts about English Literature. Can YOU clarify them?” Kristina said in an arrogant (傲慢的) tone.