"William, why do you want to learn the piano?" the teacher asked."I want to play for my mother." She noticed the tears in his eyes as he answered her. She had no heart to turn him down and accepted William as her student. But at each music lesson, William appeared to be in a hurry and played badly. "My mother is waiting outside for me. " he would tell the teacher. She was tempted to advise William not to waste his time as he never hit the right note. But there was something about William, which she was fascinated with—the tender look of his eyes each time he mentioned "mother."
Suddenly, William stopped coming for his lessons. At the end of the semester year, the music teacher decided to organize a piano recital for her students and she sent flyers to them to participate. She was surprised to find William' s application that he would like to contribute a musical piece. The music teacher was taken aback. She again had no heart to turn him down. She would put him as the last player in case he stumbled with his notes, she would come forward to remedy the situation.
The day came and William appeared with his hair uncombed and his shirt creased. He sat quietly with his eyes closed. When it was his turn to play, William bowed before the audience and said he was thankful for the music teacher' s patience with him as he may not have been the best of her pupils.
"Tonight I am dedicating my music to my mother. " he said. As he sat down and put his fingers on the keyboard, the most beautiful sound of music was heard. Everyone later asked why William did not bring his mother as she would surely be proud to hear him play.
William replied, "My mother was stone deaf and she could never hear me play during her life time. Yet she sacrificed her time and money to let me learn the piano. This morning mother passed away. I am sure she is now happy as she can hear my piano recital. I chose a piece from Beethoven' s concerto. As you all know, Beethoven was submerged with deafness at the triumph of his career. The piece symbolized his struggle for freedom from tyranny and released him from darkness and so was mother." Everyone was electrified to hear what William said and tears welled over their eyes.
The music teacher proudly exclaimed, "William, not only your mother but we all are proud of you. We are deeply touched by your devotion and your love for mother. " as she embraced him.
外表看上去有些邋遢的10岁小男孩威廉, 报名要学习钢琴，音乐老师不愿意收他。因为老师希望她的学生年龄较小些，希望孩子们能在手指灵活的年龄开始学弹琴。
“威廉，你学习弹钢琴是为了什么呢？”老师问道。“我想为妈妈弹奏。”老师注意到他回答问题时眼中的泪水。她不忍心再拒绝，收下了他。但是，在每次的音乐课上，威廉都表现得很匆忙，琴弹得也很糟糕。他告诉老师：“我妈妈在外面等着我。”他从没有弹对过一个音符，所以老师试图劝说威廉别再浪费时间了。但是，在威廉身上，有某种令她非常着迷的东西，那就是在每次提及“妈妈”时，他眼中流露出的温情。
突然间，威廉不再来上课。学年末，音乐老师决定为学生们组织一次钢琴独奏会，并发给他们一些参加弹奏的曲目。看到威廉要求参加独奏会的申请，老师感到很惊讶。她有些迷惑，可还是不忍心拒绝，便把他安排在最后一个出演。这样一来，万一他不能把曲子弹完，她还有希望上台补救。
钢琴独奏会那天到了，威廉衣冠不整地出现。他闭着双眼，静静地坐在那里。轮到他演奏的时候，他站在观众们面前鞠了一躬，并感谢老师对他的耐心，因为他可能不是老师最优秀的学生。
威廉说：“今晚，我要将我的音乐献给我妈妈。” 当他坐下来，手指按在键盘上时，最优美的音乐便在耳边响起。随后，每个人都询问威廉，为什么不带妈妈一起来？听到儿子所弹奏的美妙乐曲，她一定会很自豪的。
“我的妈妈耳朵是聋的，她这一生都听不到我的演奏。然而，她却花时间、花钱来让我学习弹钢琴。今天早上，妈妈去世了。我相信此刻她一定很开心，因为她可以听到我的钢琴独奏了。我从贝多芬的D奏曲中挑选了一首曲子。众所周知，在贝多芬音乐事业的巅峰时期，他双耳失聪。这首曲子是他与专制作斗争、争取自由、从黑暗中自我解脱的象征，同样是妈妈的象征。”威廉回答说。听了威廉的话，每个人都深受感动，泪水溢满了他们的双眼。
音乐老师一边拥抱着他，一边骄傲地大声说道：“威廉，不仅仅你妈妈，我们所有人都为你感到自豪。你的投入、你对妈妈的爱，深深地打动了我们。”
女儿上学了
Sending Kids Off to School
苏珊·尤尼 / Susan Union
My girl is going to school.
However, I still could see how several weeks ago the scene was playing itself out as clearly as if it had been written in a movie script. "Five more minutes, honey, then we have to leave." I called to my five-year-old daughter, who had been frolicking in the Pacific Ocean for the past hour. She was a proficient pool swimmer, but the deep blue sea was a different matter.
Maybe she didn' t hear me calling her name above the roar of the ocean; maybe she did hear and was just ignoring me—it was impossible to tell.
"Hey, time' s up, we have to go now." She turned, gave me a "see ya, Mom" look and headed farther into the surf. I splashed out and grabbed her arm. My shorts were soaked.
"No!" she screamed, "I don' t want to leave!" She jerked her arm away from me and pushed her little body away.
Now she was in over her head. Overcome with fear and rage I grabbed her, firmly this time, and began to drag her out. She screamed and thrashed about like a wild animal caught in a trap, growling and scratching. The gritty sand clung to our wet skin.
By now I was shaking. I could hardly believe what happened next. I smacked her on the bottom hard. It stunned her enough to make her freeze and stop her hysterical ravings. She stood there almost completely covered in sand and with her mouth wide open, unable to take a breath.
