“There are lots of beautiful fish in the lake,” said Grandpa as he drove our small boat out onto the lake one morning. “Robbie, this looks like a good place. Let’s stay there and start some serious fishing.”

Grandpa’s words filled my six-year-old mind with excitement of catching a big fish and having a dinner of fish. Attaching a bobber (浮标) to my line, I threw it into the quiet, blue-green water. My eyes carefully watched the bobber for any sign of movement. At first, my heart was beating with excitement, but after about half an hour, I grew tired of the bobber’s stillness in the water.

“Where are all the fish?” I cried. “Patience, Robbie,” said Grandpa. “Let our boat drift (漂流) for a while and see if that changes our luck.” This was how the rest of the day went. However much we drifted or moved to different parts of the lake, no fish was coming. I was quite sad and had thoughts of never fishing again. Finally, by late afternoon, Grandpa started driving us back to the lakeside.

During the period, he told me a story of how a fisherman finally caught lots of fish after being patient. But I was not that encouraged. After pulling up to the lakeside, he said, “Robbie, after I tie up the boat, stay on the boat and throw your line in one more time. There may be some sunfish hanging around the lakeside.”

I did as he said and again watched the bobber. This time I planned to be patient and waited longer.

When Ruth Hagan was 78 years old, she visited her daughter Judy and teenage granddaughter Marcy in California. They headed for their cabin, going forty miles up and down the mountains in their Bronco (野马), winding terrifyingly close to cliffs (悬崖).

After dinner Marcy announced the water tank(水箱) was low and that she would take the Bronco down to the pump and get water. Ruth was nervous about her young granddaughter driving down the narrow dirt road by herself, but Judy reminded her that Marcy had been driving vehicles up there on the ranch(大牧场) roads since she was 12.

“Just be careful, Marcy,” her mother warned. “The cliff side is pretty shaky. Be sure to hug the mountain side.” Fifteen minutes later Judy was still watching when suddenly she screamed. “Oh no! She went over the cliff, Momma! The Bronco and Marcy—they went over! We have to help her! Come on!”

Judy took off running. Ruth ran behind her, but Judy was quickly out of sight. Ruth raced down the steep hill, breathing hard. She ran on and on, down the hill, up the next, trying to catch up with her daughter. It was getting harder and harder to see anything at dusk.

Ruth stopped and looked around. She screamed into the darkness, “Judy, where are you?” Off to her immediate right and down the cliff she heard, “Down here, Mother! Don’t come near the edge! I slipped on loose rocks and fell over. I’m down about twenty feet.”

“Oh, dear God, Judy, what can I do?”

“Just stay back, Momma! I think I can crawl(爬) back up. I saw the white roof of the Bronco when I was falling, Momma, and I heard Marcy calling for help. She’s alive! But she’s way down there in the valley. You have to go back to the cabin and phone for help. Tell them to send a helicopter. We have to get Marcy out!!”

Ruth turned around and started running back the hill she’d just ran awkwardly down. Up the hill, down the next. She had one hill left to climb when she fell on her face. Chest pains took her breath away. She started to sob.

At that moment something went through her body.

She sputtered(语无伦次地说)the details of the disaster，pointing out directions to where Marcy and Judy were.

Mama notices that there has been a rise in bad manners in the family lately, such as Sister taking things from Brother without asking, and Brother pushing Sister without saying “Excuse me”. It then turns into a shoving (推搡) match between the kids, with them calling each other names and making faces. Their table manners are getting worse, as instead of asking to pass items across the table, Brother and Sister stuff their mouths with food and use some of it to engage in a food fight and kick each other from under the table.

Mama tries to coax (用好话劝) the kids, then complains, and finally shouts. She also tries to ask Papa for help, but he is also part of the problem, as when Papa gets angry at the kids, he bangs (猛捶) on the table. Nothing for Mama works, so she decides to take out a big piece of cardboard and writes out her politeness plan. When she is done, Mama calls a family meeting and introduces the plan to Papa and the kids: if they do something rude such as forgetting to say “please” or “thank you”, the punishment is to sweep the floor. Brother and Sister object to the politeness plan, telling Mama that she’s not being fair. Mama, however, reminds the kids that they’re the ones who aren’t being fair to themselves or other people. She then explains what manners are and why they are important until Papa interrupts her.

While Mama is thankful for Papa’s comment, she notes that he breaks one of the rules. She hands him a feather duster and has him dust the room. Brother and Sister note how serious the plan is and both come up with the idea of being super polite to get Mama to call off the politeness plan.

They put their idea into practice.

Mama is pleased with the change.