One morning a deer rushed into a courtyard where a little boy was playing. The deer hooked the boy’s clothing with its antlers (角). This scared the little boy so much that he let out a loud cry which brought his mother running out to see what was happening. She came out just in time and saw the deer running off towards the mountain s with her little boy.

The mother was so afraid! She ran after the deer as fast as she could, and not too far away, she found her son sitting on the grass safely. Seeing his mother, the little boy laughed and reached out his arms to her. His mother held him tight. She was so happy that she cried.

She hurried back with her dear son. When she got home, she was amazed at what she saw. The huge tree behind her house had fallen down while she was out running after the deer. The whole house was destroyed under the tree’s great weight.

Then the mother remembered the day about a year before when a deer, fleeing from a hunter, had run into her house. She felt sorry for the frightened deer, so she covered it with some clothes and let it return to the forest.

The deer seemed to understand that she had saved its life. When leaving, it kept bowing its head to her, as if it were thanking her for her kindness.

She never imagined that the deer could remember her help. It somehow knew the tree was going to fall and kill her and her son, so it came back to save them.

When the mother remembered all this, she said, “Saving the life of another is the same as saving the life of your own.”

Life on the Road: Meet ‘Van Lifer’Alexandra Ulmke

“Van life” has become more and more popular in recent years, with vans being turned into homes for life on the road. 【小题1】We spoke to Alexandra Ulmke, who left her city life behind and began living out of a van in 2016.

At 26, Ulmke had her dream life, working as a government marine biologist in Seattle. But she had another dream: to travel the world. Ulmke bought a 2000 Volkswagen EuroVan—which she named “Penny”—quit her job and sold all her possessions to live on the road.【小题2】“The biggest challenge was feeling really lonely,” Ulmke said. After several months of traveling solo, she was joined by Talkeetna, a German shepherd who traveled with her for a year.

【小题3】 “The bucket list never ends. You’re out there and you realize how much there is to see,” she said.However, she finally moved back home to Washington in 2020 before the corona-virus pandemic. After years of living with few responsibilities, she entered her 30s.【小题4】Now Ulmke is the owner of Wandering Roots Campers, a business that converts vans into homes for other van lifers. But she still takes Penny out on small trips on weekends.

For those wanting to try van life, Ulmke recommends two things: First, learn to live without luxuries. 【小题5】Second, start with some weekend solo trips—before you consider quitting your job, loading your van and living on the road forever.