It was a Friday afternoon. In Brooklyn Junior Middle School, the bell indicating the end of the last class threw the whole classroom into chaos. All the boys and girls started packing their school bags, chattering with each other about their exciting plans for the long-anticipated weekend at the same time.

Miss Helen, the headteacher, stepped into the noisy classroom. She quieted the kids, assigned the homework and added: “The first teacher-parent meeting of this term will take place tomorrow morning. Please...”

Bill’s heart sank.

Bill was a 12-year-old boy in Grade 7. His father was a sailor. He had to work at sea most of the year and did not get home often. However, this didn’t make Bill an eccentric (性格古怪的) and withdrawn boy.

As a matter of fact, at school, Bill was a typical student favored by all the teachers in his class. He was never late for school, always active in class, always polite to the teachers and always friendly and helpful towards his classmates, not to mention his outstanding academic performance.

It was all because of his kind, considerate and devoted mum, a perfect mum in Bill’s eyes, except for one thing: She walked with a pronounced limp (跛行). Bill remembered when young, maybe about 3 or 4 years old, he once asked her mum about it, but his mum just smiled and told him she was born like this. Bill loved his mum very much but he seldom went out with his mum. He just hated it when others eyed, whispered or inquired about that, curiously, kindly or sympathetically.

And now, this would be the first time for his new classmates and teachers to meet his mother and he would be embarrassed by her appearance.

That evening, Bill called his father and complained about his absence and the upcoming meeting.

Ridoy, a 12-year-old boy, lived a carefree life under good care of his mom and dad. Just like any other boy of his age, he often lost his temper with his parents. Sometimes he obeyed what they said, but sometimes he would completely ignore them. For example, one day, Ridoy’s mom needed to go shopping for some ingredients for cooking and she asked Ridoy to help look after his one-year-old sister. But Ridoy just blurted “no way”, slapped the door and locked himself into his bedroom. There was another time when Ridoy’s dad urgently needed Ridoy to fetch a pair of fliers for him when he was fixing his bike. Ridoy just refused without thinking. But Ridoy’s parents did not worry a lot since this was very common in kids.

It was an unexpected holiday announced by the school of Ridoy and he had a five-day holiday. For the first two days, he spent a good time with his mother. She took him for outings. They went to the beach and amusement parks, and had delicious dining. She cooked his favorite foods and played with him. Three days were left and Ridoy’s mother wanted to clean the house, which she intended to involve Ridoy in. To her surprise, he accepted without hesitation. With the help of Ridoy, the house instantly became very tidy and the floor shone like a mirror. Everything she asked him to do during the three days was done to perfection. Although she was astonished by his behavior, a delicious sweetness well up in Ridoy’s mom’s heart.

While she was cooking the dinner meal on the fifth day, Ridoy gave her a piece of paper written by him. Since his mom was busy cooking, she asked him to place the paper on the dining table. After cooking the meals, she took the paper left by his son. The piece of paper contained the following list:

Cutting grass in the garden -$2

Cleaning the house -$3;

Taking care of my sister -$3;

Removing the garbage -$ 2;

…

In total, you owe me $20

She was literally shocked,

The boy was in tears when reading the paper.

A MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE

The twins were filled with excitement as they thought of the surprise they were planning for Mother’s Day. How pleased and proud Mother would be when they brought her breakfast in bed. They planned to make French toast and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. There was nothing to it. Jenna and Jeff knew exactly what to do.

The big day came at last. The alarm rang at 6 a.m. The pair went down the stairs quietly to the kitchen. They decided to boil the porridge first. They put some rice into a pot of water and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenna found the bread and put two slices into the egg mixture. Next, Jeff turned on the second stove burner to heat up the frying pan. Everything was going smoothly until Jeff started frying the bread. The pan was too hot and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenna threw the burnt piece into the sink and put in the other slice of bread. This time, she turned down the fire so it cooked nicely.

Then Jeff noticed steam shooting out of the pot and the lid starting to shake. The next minute, the porridge boiled over and put out the fire. Jenna panicked. Thankfully, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. But the stove was a mess now. Jenna told Jeff to clean it up so they could continue to cook the rest of the porridge. But Jeff’s hand touched the hot burner and he gave a cry of pain. Jenna made him put his hand in cold water. Then she caught the smell of burning. Oh dear! The piece of bread in the pan had turned black as well.

As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father appeared. Father’s appearing was like a savior to the two children. ________________,（在父亲的指导下） they took positive actions and started all over again. ________________（他们做了面包然后还煮了粥）Father helped them adjust the fire, ________________.（这是成功的关键）It was all right this time. ________________.（美味的早餐准备好了。）________________!（她们非常的高兴！）

The twins carried the breakfast upstairs and woke their mother up.