An Absent-minded Mother
It was late in a spring afternoon. I was sitting idle at a beverage stall beside Beihai Lake gazing at the shinning ripple. The faint fragrance of foliage in the air awoke me to a full sense of life.
A little aslant opposite to me were sitting a mother and her daughter. The latter, a lovely girl of seven or eight with a pretty, small nose, was occupied with an ice cream. Her mother, holding the child’s sweater, was whispering to her.
A sudden breeze blew and the child sneezed. Her mother promptly put the sweater on her and began to button it up. In her hurry the buttons were wrongly matched, which was unnoticed by her until several had done. The mother at once unbuttoned the sweater and did it again. Such a trifling slip, however, did not escape the child’s eye. “Ha-ha, mum, see how your mind has
wandered!” said the girl with a loud laughter, which brought a sullen look to the mother’s face.
As an onlooker, I anticipated a good dressing down for the little girl because of the insolent remark she made. But instead there was only an embarrassing interval of a few seconds. Then I heard the mother’s gentle voice: “Yes, it surely has, for my heart has gone out to you!” said the mother, pointing a kind finger at the girl’s little chest. The child blinked
bewilderingly, hiding her blush in the bosom of her mother who hugged her gently in arms. A smile of gratification spread over the mother’s face.
I was deeply moved by the scene of motherly love. What was the most praiseworthy thing about mother was her way of treating the child’s behavior. Nowadays many people seem to forget that the best way to educate a child is not indulging or blaming, or even moral lecturing, but tender enlightening with love.
Question:
1) Translate this article into Chinese.
2) Discuss this beautiful essay. What will you learn from this article?
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