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

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