Wooden bowls

Heaven horse

A weak and thin old man lived with his daughter， his son-in-law， and his four-year-old grandson. His eyes were not clear， his hands shaky， and his steps very slow.

The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfathers shaky hands and poor sight made eating rather difficult. Food often fell to the floor. When he held his glass of milk， it often came out of the glass and dirtied the tablecloth.

With this happening almost every night， the daughter and son-in-law became angry with this.

“We must do something about father，” said the daughter.

“Ive had enough of his milk wasting， noisy eating and food on the floor，” the son-in-law agreed.

So the couple set a small table at the corner.

There， grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two， his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family looked in grandfathers direction， he had tears in his eyes as he ate alone. Still， the only words the couple had for him were sharp words when he dropped some food or did something else wrong. The four-year-old grandson watched it all without saying a word.

One evening， before supper， the father noticed his son playing with some wood on the floor. He asked the child sweetly， “What are you making？” Just as sweetly， the boy answered， “Oh， Im making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The four-year-old grandson smiled and went back to work.

These words so hit the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their faces. Though no words were spoken， both knew what must be done. That evening， the husband took grandfathers hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the rest of his days， grandfather ate every meal with the family. And for some reason you know， neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped or the tablecloth was dirtied.

Vocabulary

shaky ?adj. 顫巍巍的

tear ? n. 眼淚

sweet ?adj. 甜的

文章大意：父母因嫌棄爺爺行動不便讓他單獨用木碗吃飯，孫子見此情景也效仿做木碗，說要為父母老時備用，父母因此幡然悔悟，讓老人同桌吃飯。

Heaven horse