Standing outside the cave entrance, Grandfather admired the green-carpeted hills, but Lin hated the cave. He had come here today only because of Grandfather.

Grandfather preferred to use guano, the waste matter of bats, to fertilize (施肥) his crops. But he was too weak to do the whole job. He could gather the guano and bring it out of the cave in the basket, but he needed Lin to carry it home in the wooden cart.

Grandfather took a shovel (铲子) and flashlight from the cart. “Change your mind and come inside with me?” he asked Lin. “It won’t happen again, Lin,” Grandfather promised. “Last time it was my mistake. We shouldn’t have waited until nearly dusk (黄昏) to go inside. I know that the bats fly out of the cave at dusk.” That was exactly what had happened on the Terrible Day of the Bats. As Lin had stood at the cave entrance, a crowd of black bats had erupted from it. Lin had been terrified.

“Bats hurt no one,” Grandfather had said. “Besides, you scared them as much as they did you.”

But nothing could make Lin forget the horror he had felt in that black cloud of bats. “I can’t go in there,” he told Grandfather now.

“OK,” Grandfather said. As he started into the cave, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll be out in no time.” Lin parked the cart and glanced at the shovel and flashlight inside it. His shovel and flashlight. He had used them before. Now they only reminded him of his fear.

Lin turned his back on the cart and walked down to the river. Grandfather would call when he was finished. Until then, Lin would put as much distance as possible between himself and the cave.

Lin watched two little birds splashing about at the edge of the river. He enjoyed the peaceful view over the vast river surface. Then Lin realized that Grandfather’s “no time” had turned into a long time.

Lin hurried up the hill toward the cave. The cart was still there. Grandfather was still inside. Something had gone wrong.

Lin looked around but found no one he could turn to for help.

In the dark cave, Lin gathered his courage and yelled again, “Grandfather!”

The power of silence

Joe was an old man aged 75. His children grew up and moved to different cities in pursuit of a good career and future. He lived in a small village carrying the memories of his deceased wife. Joe had 4 grandchildren and they used to visit him during their holidays. And it was the vacation time and Joe was eagerly waiting for his grandchildren. He was making preparations for their arrival, cleaning the house, mowing (修剪) the lawn, rearranging the household items and buying snacks and dresses for the children, etc.

However, in the busy arrangements, he lost his favorite watch, which was given by his late wife when their first child was born. Joe treasured the watch and it became his only companion (伴侣) after his wife’s death. He didn’t realize that he had lost the watch and received the kids happily at home. It was only the next day when he was about to take a bath that he remembered the watch was missing. He was shocked and very upset. His grandchildren asked him why he was so sad and what troubled him.

Joe said, “Dear children, I lost the most precious watch I have ever had in my life. It was gifted by your grandma and I lost it while cleaning the house. I feel like I’m missing my heart.” Joe was in tears and the children promised him that they would find the watch for him.

One granddaughter, Mary, asked, “Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before you lost it?” Joe said, “I guess when I was cleaning the barn.”

The children immediately began to search for the watch in the barn. The barn was full of waste materials, books, broken furniture, etc. They searched for more than three hours with the help of Joe, but failed.

After a fruitless search for the watch, Joe gave up.   

Mary stayed alone in the barn for about 10 minutes quietly and then rushed to her grandfather.

I didn’t question Timmy, aged nine, or his seven year-old brother Billy about the brown wrapping (包装) paper they passed back and forth between them as we visited each store.

Every year at Christmas time, our Service Club takes the children from poor families in our town on a shopping tour. I chose Timmy and Billy, whose father was out of work. Their mother was still in poor condition. Besides, they also had two younger sisters to care for. They lived a hard life.

After giving them the allotted (指定的) four dollars each. I began the shopping trip with the two boys. One store after another, they could find their desired gifts. At different stores. I made suggestions on what they should buy, but always their answer was a polite shake of the head, no. Finally I asked, “Where would you suggest we look? What on earth do you want to buy for this Christmas?”

“Could we go to a shoe store, sir?” asked Timmy, I felt confused about his question, so I asked why.

Timmy replied, “We’d like to buy a pair of shoes for our Daddy so that he can go to work.”

In the shoe store, the shopkeeper asked what the boys wanted. Out came the brown paper. “We want a pair of work shoes to fit this foot,” they said.

Billy explained that it was their Daddy’s footprint. They had drawn it while he was asleep in a chair. The shopkeeper held the paper against a measuring(测量的)stick, and then walked away. Soon he came with an open box. “Will these do?” he asked.

Timmy and Billy held the shoes with great expectation. “How much do they cost?” asked Billy.

Then Timmy saw the price on the box. “They’re $16.95,” he said, feeling downhearted. “But we only have eight dollars. It is far from enough to buy them for our Daddy. What should we do? If only we could get a discount (折扣)!”

At that moment, I looked at the shopkeeper and asked, “Can you give us a discount?”

The boys went back home with the shoes happily.