“Wanted: Violin. Can’t pay much. Call me at...”

Why did I notice that? I wondered, since I seldom look at such ads. I put the newspaper on my lap and closed my eyes, _______ what had happened many years before, when my family _______ to make a living on our farm. I, too, had wanted a violin, but we didn’t have the money.

When my arms grew long enough, how I wanted one! But I knew it was impossible. It was not a good year. At harvest the crops did not bring as much as we had hoped. Yet _______ times were hard, I couldn’t wait any longer to ask, “Daddy, may I have a violin of my own?”

Daddy looked _______ . That night, I heard him pray, “…Mary wants her own violin.” One evening we all sat around the table. Daddy wrote a letter to his friend, Mr Finkle, a violinist. When Daddy received a letter from Columbus several weeks later, he announced, “We’ll be driving to Columbus.”

The day finally _______ . After we got there, Mr Finkle, a tall man, opened the door. “Come in!” he and Daddy heartily shook hands at once.

He _______ a case, opened it and lifted out a violin. He said, “Carl, I found it in a shop for _______ dollars. It’s a good violin.” Then he handed the violin to me. I noticed the _______ in Daddy’s eyes. It was mine! I stroked (抚摸) the violin gently. The wood was a golden brown that seemed to warm in the light. “It’s beautiful.” I said, barely breathing.

The day I carried my violin to school for my first lesson no one could imagine the bursting feeling in my heart. Over the months I _______ every day. When I was ready to join the school orchestra (管弦乐队), I shook with ________ . I sat in the third row of violins and wore my white jacket. My heart beat ________ at my first public performance. I felt sure everyone in the audience was watching me. Daddy and Mother smiled ________ at their little girl.

I thought of Daddy, who did all he could to ________ my needs when I was a little girl. I wonder if I had ever thanked him.

At last I walked to the ________ and dialed the number. Later in the day, a man in his 30s knocked on the door. “My daughter wants a violin so badly,” he said. “ ________ are you asking?” Any music store, I knew, would offer me a nice sum. But now I heard my voice answer, “Seven dollars.”