3-1 Mother's Diary III
24 Months, Day 1, Cloudy. P
It has been two years since Jonathan was born. P
I turned off the light because he wouldn't go to sleep late into the night. P
Jonathan was angry and said, P
"Turn off not!" P
He probably meant for me to not turn off the light. P
Jonathan talks so funny. P
As Jonathan read the diary, he was able to vividly imagine how he grew up. P
The last entry in the diary was a letter to Jonathan that read, P
"Jonathan, I hope when you read this you will know how you grew up, P
I hope that some day you will make your own diary and keep a good record when you can read and write. P
After reading the diary, P
Jonathan decided to keep a diary and write about all of the important events in his life. P
3-2 Dongjun's Diary I
December 23, Sunny P
Today I went to the ice-skating rink with my older sister. P
Since I didn't know how to skate, my sister taught me how to skate. P
Even though it was my first time, and it was difficult, it was really fun. P
At the skating rink we met my sister's friend, who pointed at me and asked my sister, P
"Karen, who's the little boy?" P
When I heard my sister's friend call me little, I got angry. P
To make matters worse, my sister answered as if everything was ok. P
"This little trouble maker is my brother, Daniel." P
Not only did my sister's friend call me little, P
but my own sister called me a troublemaker. P
After hearing this I became even angrier. P
To top it off, my sister left me alone, and went to have fun with her friend. P
On the way home, I had a quarrel with my sister. P
"Hey! I'm a little boy and a troublemaker?!" P
After my sister heard this, she also got angry and said, P
"Are you a giant then? Why are you so mad anyways? Didn't you have fun?" P
My sister didn't know that I always bragged about her to my friends. P
This made me really mad. P
3-3 Dongjun's Diary II
"Daniel. You got mad because I called you a little boy and a troublemaker? I'm sorry. P
I didn't mean it to make you angry; I just meant it to be cute. P
But once you got angry at me, I couldn't help getting mad at you, too. P
I thought you were happy that you had learned to skate, and you were skating really well, too. P
That's why I left you. P
Thinking of it now, I should have been more thoughtful. P
From now on, I'll watch my mouth. P
Daniel. Let's go skating again later. P
Then, I hope we can play without getting into a quarrel. P
Let's get along!" P
3-4 Opposite-doing Son I
Once upon a time, there were a father and son who lived in a village. P
The son always did exactly the opposite of what his father told him to do. P
"Get the water from the well, since the river water smells." the father told the son. P
Then the son replied, P
"I don't think so. I like the river water better." P
Therefore the son brought back water from the river. P
The father was always heartbroken because of his son. P
But the father figured out a way to make his son do things the way he wanted him to. P
3-5 Opposite-doing Son II
When the father wanted to drink cold water, he asked his son to bring warm water. P
Because the son always did the opposite of what he was told, P
he would then bring his father cold water. P
When he wanted water from the well, he asked for water from the river. P
He asked for vegetables when he wanted meat. P
And then one day, it suddenly started raining as they were on their way back to the village from a trip. P
The rain poured down as if the sky was one big spout. P
When the father and the son arrived at the riverbank, P
the river had more water in it than usual. P
"Let's wait a while until the water goes down." P
"Don't be scared, father." P
"Well then. I'll lead the way. Just follow me." P
3-6 Opposite-doing Son III
The father went across the river through the gushing waters. P
"Son, walk carefully across the river. The currents are very dangerous." P
Said the father, thinking his son would do the opposite. P
His son began to cross the river. P
As soon as he began walking across the river, P
he saw the current gushing down the center, and he stepped right in it. P
As the son stepped into the current he was swept away by the river. P
As soon as the father got to the other side, he called for help. P
Soon the whole village came running to the river to help find his son, P
but the current had taken the son far away, and they could not find him. P
3-7 My Dog Bow
A week ago, my dog, Bow, gave birth to five puppies. P
I wasn't allowed to see the puppies for the first few days. P
"Don't go near the dog house." P
After the puppies were born, P
my grandfather put up a sign on the dog house to let people know that Bow might be frightened and might nip if they try to come near her. P
This is why my grandfather told me not to go near the doghouse. P
He told me that if I tried to go near Bow, she might think that I want to harm her puppies. P
I was glad that Bow gave birth to puppies, but on the other hand, I was disappointed. P
She used to follow me around all the time, P
and now she would bark at me every time I got near the doghouse. P
Ever since yesterday, though, she has become less aggressive. P
She stopped barking at me, even when I came close to the doghouse. P
Ever since Bow stopped barking at me, I've been able to get a closer look, P
and I watched her feeding her puppies. P
Each puppy was fussing and fighting, trying to get food. P
I hope the puppies will grow up quickly, so I can play with them. P
3-8 A Master and the Bread I
One day, early in the morning, someone broke into a large house. P
The master of the house had come out to get fresh air and take a break from his studies, and he asked his servants, P
"What's the matter?" P
One servant answered, P
"Someone has broken into the cellar and stolen some sticky rice. P
The master went to the cellar and said, P
"Hmm, that's strange! The thief stole so little. P
And the thief was careful not to drop a grain of rice on the floor…" P
3-9 A Master and the Bread II
The master then told everyone to go back to sleep, P
and he returned to his study for the rest of the night. P
The master stayed awake all night and did not see anyone go over the wall or hear the gates open or close, P
so the brilliant master came to the conclusion that the thief must be one of his servants. P
The next morning, all the servants were talking and wondering what the master was going to do about the thief. P
The master then replied, "I'll catch the thief. P
Go back to your work and don't worry about it." P
And the master then went back to his study to read. P
After the master left them, the servants began to speculate on how the master was going to catch the thief, P
and whispered ideas among themselves. P
3-10 A Master and the Bread III
After a few days, the master said, P
"Make bread with 10 gallons of sticky rice." P
So the servants got 10 gallons of sticky rice and began making bread. P
After the bread was made, the master asked all the servants to gather together. P
When they were all present, the master said, P
"Everyone, please eat as much bread as you wish." P
The servants were pleased and said, "Free food? Thank you master!" P
Soon everyone began eating the bread, P
except for one servant who was only pretending to eat. P
3-11 A Master and the Bread IV
The clever master observed that the one servant only pretending to eat bread must be the thief. P
He then called the servant into his study. P
"All of the servants were enjoying the bread feast. P
Why were you only pretending to eat?" P
Realizing she had been found out, the servant said, "Sir, please forgive me. P
I am the one who stole the rice. P
I only wanted to eat cooked rice. Please forgive me." P
The master saw that she was telling the truth and said, P
"Shh! Be quiet. I am the only one that knows that." P
The master then let her go, and let the matter go, as if nothing had happened. P
The servant who stole the sticky rice was grateful, and worked harder from then on. P
3-12 A Master and the Bread V
The rest of the servants had no idea what had happened, P
and were still curious about the fate of the thief. P
"Sir, when are you going to catch the thief?" P
Laughing, the master replied, "I already did!" P
Confused, the servants asked, "Who was the thief? When did you catch the thief?" P
"When you were eating the bread! Didn't you realize that I was gone? P
Now we can leave the wooden rice chest out in the yard and not worry about anybody stealing from us." P
And he gave them all a big smile. P
3-13 Collin's Diary I
One Sunday afternoon, Colin went to the library with his mother. P
When Colin entered the library, P
he saw lots of other people who had also come with their friends and family. P
Colin and his mother went directly to the reading room. P
Colin saw people taking books from the shelves, reading, P
and even searching for information on computers. P
At first, Colin was amazed at how many people were using the library, P
and yet there was hardly a sound to be heard. P
3-14 Collin's Diary II
As Colin was browsing the shelves, he found a book titled, "The Lion and The Mouse". P
He took the book from the shelf, and sat next to his mother to read it. P
Reading in the library was easy, because it was so quiet. P
Time passed quickly as Colin and his mother read their books. P
When it was time to go, they placed the books they were reading back where they had found them. P
As they were checking out a book they both wanted to read at home, Colin's mother asked, P
"So, how did you like your first time at the library?" P
"I enjoyed coming to the library a lot. And I hope we will come here often." P
As he left the library, Colin was very happy he had come. P
3-15 Collin's Diary III
August 3rd, Sunny P
Today at the library, I read "The Lion and The Mouse". The book was very interesting. P
The book was about a Mouse that touched a Lion's whisker while it was taking a nap. P
The Lion woke up and angrily caught the Mouse with his paw. P
As the Lion was about to eat the Mouse, P
the Mouse asked for forgiveness, and promised to save the Lion's life as well one day if he was set free now. P
Amused by what the Mouse had said, the Lion asked how a little mouse was going to save a great lion. P
Laughing at the thought, the Lion let the Mouse go free. P
A few days later, the Lion became entangled in a net. P
He shouted for help, but no one came to his rescue. P
And then the Mouse appeared. P
It climbed up on the net and began chewing at the ropes of the net until it had chewed right through. P
By chewing the ropes of the net, the Lion was set free and the Mouse and the Lion became good friends. P
I especially liked how the little Mouse saved the great Lion, P
which shows that anyone is capable of great things, whether they are big or small. P
3-16 A Good Mailman I
In tiny Bellflower Village, there was a mailman. P
Every day, the mailman would deliver the mail, even when the sun was scorching hot. P
"Wow!" He said. "It's so hot! I'm nearly melting away! P
But I want to hurry and give Grandmother Yang the letter from her grandson. I know it will make her so happy!" P
A wide smile spread across his tan face. P
Every day the mailman would bring the mail to the people of the small village, P
which lied very far from the nearest larger town. P
And this is why the mailman's bag was also so heavy. P
It took over thirty minutes to get from the nearest town to Bellflower Village, P
which will also explain why the mailman was always so hot. P
As the young people in the village grew up, they left for larger towns, P
and only the grandmothers and the grandfathers stayed behind. P
3-17 A Good Mailman II
One day, while the mailman was delivering on his route, he came across a sick grandfather. P
The sick grandfather was living all alone, because his children left to go live in the city. P
So the mailman took the grandfather to the nearest hospital. P
After taking the sick grandfather to the hospital, the mailman returned to his route again. P
As time passed, the mailman became the elder's eyes and ears to the outside world. P
Every time the elders heard his motorcycle, P
they knew that the mailman was on his way, and they were very happy. P
And every time the mailman goes to Bellflower Village, P
he is always happy, knowing that he is helping the people there. P
He never stops whistling merry melodies. P
Even the bellflowers of the village dance along to the mailman's jolly melody. P
3-18 Penguin Family I
Every winter penguins gather to lay eggs. One day the mother penguin became sick. P
"You don't look so well," the father penguin told the mother penguin. P
"You should go to the hospital and I'll take care of the egg while you're gone." P
The mother penguin was worried that the egg would grow cold, P
so she did not want to leave the father penguin alone. P
Worried, the mother penguin said, P
You won't be able to move or eat anything while you are sitting on the egg." P
Realizing that she was worried, the father penguin replied, P
"Don't worry. Just go and get healthy. I'll be more worried if you stay sick." P
Knowing that the father penguin was right, the mother penguin went on a journey to the hospital. P
3-19 Penguin Family II
Two months passed. P
Sometimes there were violent snowstorms. P
The father would always cover the egg tightly under his warm belly to prevent it from freezing. P
He just sat on the egg, without moving or eating, for two whole months. P
Even though the father was hungry and tired, he never gave up protecting the egg. P
Finally, the mother penguin came back. P
The mother penguin saw that the father was very, very tired, and said, "I'm so sorry! P
The Snow Express melted in the hot sun, and I had to travel around the mountain to reach you. P
"Don't apologize. I'm just glad that you came back healthy." P
Soon after the mother's return, the egg hatched, P
and the father and mother penguin hugged each other. P
3-20 Names of Plants I
There are many kinds of plants in the garden at Carolyn's school. P
Each plant was easily seen, but the children didn't know anything about plants. P
The kids at Carolyn's school didn't even know the names of the plants in the garden. P
So the school decided to plant several different kinds of flowers and plants in the garden to teach the children more about them. P
The school made a pretty flower garden with red bricks. P
Then the school put up signs describing the different types of plants and flowers. P
Carolyn now took extra notice of the garden, P
and wondered why the school only planted ordinary plants there that were not special in any way. P
As the teacher explained more about the plants around the school, P
she appreciated them more as well. P