asions； and I； too； wondered what had happened to the missing box。
I love to prowl antique shops and flea markets； hunting for treasures。 It’s great fun to walk up and down the aisles early in the morning； watching as the vendors spread their wares on the ground。
I hadn’t been to a flea market in over a year when； one Sunday in 1993； I got the itch to go。 So I crawled out of bed at 5 ； and after a couple of hours I was thinking about leaving。 I rounded the last corner and took a few steps down the row when I noticed some china strewn on the macadam。 I saw that it was hand…painted china。。。 with forget…me…nots！ I raced over to look at it more closely and gingerly picked up a cup and saucer。。。 forget…me…nots！ Exactly like Grandmother’s china； with the same delicate strokes and the same thin gold bands around the rims。 I looked at the rest of the items—there were the cups！ The saucers！ The bowls！ It was Grandmother’s china！
The dealer had noticed my excitement； and when she came over I told her the story of the missing box。 She said the china had e from an estate sale in Pasadena—the next town over from Arcadia； where we had lived when I was a child。 When she was going through the contents of the estate； she had found an old unopened carton stored in the garden shed； and the china was in it。 She queshoned the heirs about the china and they said that they knew nothing about it； that the box had been in the shed “forever。”
I left the Rose Bowl Flea Market that day laden with my amazing treasure。 Even now； six years later； I am filled with wonder that “all the pieces in the universe” tumbled together to let me find the missing china。 What would have happened if I had slept in？ What gave me the itch to go to the Rose Bowl on that particular day？ What if I hadn’t turned that last corner； choosing instead to leave and rest my aching feet？
Last week I had a dinner party for fifteen friends。 We used Grandmother’s china。 And at the end of the meal； I proudly served coffee in those beautiful cups and saucers that had been missing for so long。
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礼物（1）
哈蒂·梅·拉特里夫
一天早上，大女儿朗达从前门跑进来，向我喊道：“妈妈，刚才发生了一件非常奇妙的事情。”
我笑了，记得朗达小时候就是一个热情洋溢的小女孩，她会冲进家门，把一天听到的新闻宣布出来。如今，朗达结婚了，并且已经是两个孩子的母亲，但她的热情仍然能使整个家庭充满活力。
“早上好，朗达！小豆子，你也早上好！”我一边打着招呼，一边抱起两岁大的外孙女，“坐在这里，吃些点心，喝些咖啡。吃完早餐，把你知道的新闻全部告诉我。”我转过身去，看了看朗达，“莫非是你怀孕了？”
朗达答道：“不是，妈妈。”她端着咖啡，激动地说：“今天早上，圣弗朗西斯学校的校长柏金斯太太告诉我，有一个人支付了格雷格的学费，但是那个人没有留下姓名。妈妈，那可是一整年的学费。”
朗达紧紧地抓住了我的手，眼眶中充盈着泪水说：“是你们吗，妈妈？是你和爸爸付的学费吗？”
我告诉她：“我们很希望能够替你付学费，但不是我们。”
朗达和她的丈夫都选择了教师这个职业，他们准备改变世界，必要的话，至少改变一个孩子的命运。记得他们刚刚结婚，就开始了第一次教学工作。
丽贝卡出生后，朗达和吉尔决定两个人中的一个人挣钱养家，并且全家以后要勒紧裤腰带过日子。朗达辞掉了工作，成了全职妈妈，但仍然继续教学工作，只不过学生是自己的孩子。
他们两个人的决定对孩子的成长是有益的，然而夫妇二人的生活却艰难了。格雷格3岁的时候就能够阅读，他的表现说明了他是一个有天分的孩子。经过很长时间的讨论，朗达和吉尔决定每周两天把格雷格送到私立幼儿园。那里拥有优秀的教师，而且是小班授课，效果很好，只是学费很昂贵。由于两个人没有足够的钱支付学费，便申请了部分奖学金。校长告诉他们，申请奖学金是很正常的，有几个校友时常来帮忙解决幼儿园的这些问题。然而，居然有人支付了格雷格一年的学费，真是难以置信。
那张从学校拿回来的支票仍然握在朗达的手中，她说：“我真想知道那个慷慨解囊的人的姓名。”
“朗达，我认为应该为这些捐助者保守秘密，不管他们是谁。”我抱了抱她，继续说：“记住别人对你的帮助，你在将来的一天也可以为他们做同样的事情。”
朗达说：“妈妈，您也太盲目乐观了，这可是一笔数目不小的钱，我当然想知道那些好心人是谁。我写了一封感谢信，让柏金斯太太务必帮我转交给捐助者。”
几个月之后，学年即将结束，朗达要出去办点事情，就把丽贝卡送到我家帮她带几个小时。朗达一边在包里翻找钥匙，一边跟我道别，她总是把钥匙乱放。
她从包里拿出了一封信，说道：“哎呀，我忘了把这封信签上名寄出去了。” 这是格雷格从学校拿回来的一封实地考察入场券。当她打开信封时，一张粉色的纸片掉到了地上。
“这是什么？”我把纸片捡起来，给了朗达。
朗达看了看那张纸说：“妈妈，您看！原来是克里斯蒂，克里斯蒂·里克斯，一定是圣弗朗西斯学校的人把这张收据放错了，放到了格雷格的信封里。”原来捐助者是克里斯蒂，她一直为格雷格支付每月120美圆的学费。
克里斯蒂·里克斯是一个年轻的女孩子，5年前，朗达在一所高中教课，在她的第一节舞蹈课上，克里斯蒂也正巧就在那个班上课。克里斯蒂住在卫理公会收容所，她是州政府的监护对象，朗达和吉尔一直对住在收容所里的克里斯蒂和另一位学生呵护有加。夫妇俩给两个孩子关爱，给她们忠告，每逢周日就邀请她们到家里吃晚饭，到了她们生日的时候，还给她们烤生日蛋糕。两年后，朗达和吉尔搬家到了另一个城市，他们换了工作后与另外一名学生失去了联系，但多年来一直与克里斯蒂保持联系。此外，他们还参加了克里斯蒂的高中毕业典礼，并把她送到了大学宿舍。 朗达自言自语地说：“她怎么有能力支付这么高的学费呢？” 据我所知，她的经济来源只是一些学生工资。我们不可以接受这些钱，我必须打电话告诉她让她不要再这样做了。” 电子书 分享网站
礼物（2）
我说：“朗达，克里斯蒂是不想让你知道这件事情的，很显然，这对她来说很重要。你不能告诉她你已经知道了这个秘密。”
几个月后，克里斯蒂放暑假了，顺路来拜访我们，并在这里开了一个迟到的生日会。那天晚上，当其他人都睡下后，我与克里斯蒂谈了很久。她即将从大学荣誉毕业的时候，认识了一个很特别的男青年。
朗达说：“我为你骄傲，克里斯蒂，你已经成长为一个出色的年轻人了，从在课堂上见到你的第一天起，我就知道你会有出息的。”
“戴维森老师，我想给您看一样东西。”她一边说一边从旅行袋里拿出一本《圣经》。她把书打开，抽出一封短信，那是朗达和吉尔给不知名的捐助者写的感谢信。然后，她说：“戴维森老师，您能读一下吗？”
朗达大声地读着信，几乎哽咽了。
在短信的最后一段，朗达读道：“我们只是希望，我们有一天也能像您慷慨地捐助我们的孩子一样，去帮助另一个小孩。”
克里斯蒂说道：“戴维森老师，您难道不知道吗，我就是那个被帮助的孩子。您和戴维森先生教授了我那么多知识，还给了我那么多关爱，我只能通过这种方式表示我的感激。”
女儿这段非常有意义的人生经历和克里斯蒂的慷慨行为常常回荡在我的记忆中。我想，幸好有了克里斯蒂，朗达和吉尔才看到了他们对别人产生的积极影响，并看到热情的付出所得到的回报。不然，他们永远也不会知道，他们的付出对于那些孩子的影响是多么积极。
The Gift
Hattie Mae Ratliff
One morning my oldest daughter； Rhonda； rushed in my front door．“Mom； the most wonderful thing just happened。 ”
I smiled； remembering Rhonda’s enthusiasm as a young girl； when she would e barreling into our home with news of her day。 Now； as a wife and mother of two； she could still enerclize a room。
“Good morning； Rhonda； and a good morning to you too； sweet pea；” I said； picking up my two…year…old granddaughter。“Let’s sit and have coffee and cookies。 Then you can tell me all about your news。 ” Turning around； I looked at my daughter。 “Are you pregnant？”
“No； Mom； ”Rhonda answered。 Sitting with her coffee cup in hand； she sighed with excitement。“Mrs。 Perkins； the director of Saint Francis School； told me this morning that an anonymous person is paying Greg’s tuition。 Mom； they’re paying his tuition for the whole year。 ”
Rhonda’s eyes filled with tears as she grabbed my hand。 “Was it you； Mom？ You and dad？”
“No； I wish we could； but it wasn’t us。 ” I said。
Rhonda and her husband； Gil had both selected the role of educators for their careers。 I remembered when； as newlyweds； they set off for their first teaching jobs； ready to change the world； one child at a time； if necessary。
After Rebekah was born； Rhonda and Gil decided to tighten their belts and live on one ine。 Rhonda gave up her paid teaching job and became a full…time； stay…at… home mom； reserving her teaching for her own little one。
This was great for their children but hard on their pocketbook。 Greg showed signs of being a gifted child and could read at the age of three。 Rhonda and Gil talked at length and decided to send him to a private preschool for two days a week。 The school was expensive； but it offered great teachers with small classrooms and produced good results。 Knowing they would have difficulty paying the tuition alone； they had requested a partial scholarship。 The director assured them this was a mon practice and that they had several alumni who helped out from time to time。 No one had dreamed someone would pay the whole amount of Greg’s tuition。 。。
礼物（3）
Rhonda； still holding the note from the school in her hand； said。“I just wish I knew who was so generous。”
“Rhonda； I think that； whoever the benefactor is； it must be important to them to keep their identity private。 “Giving her a hug； I continued； “Count your blessings。 And someday you can do the same for someone else。 ”
“Mom； you’re such a Pollyanna！But I sure would like to know。 That’s a lot of money。 I wrote a thank…you note and asked Mrs。 Perkins to see that the donor receives it。 ”
Several months later； near the end of the school year； Rhonda was dropping Rebekah off at my house to spend a couple of hours while she ran some quick errands。 We said our good…byes as Rhonda hunted through her purse for her misplaced keys。
“Shoot； I forgot to sign and return this；” she said； retrieving an envelope。 Greg had brought home a permission slip to attend a field trip。 When she opened the enve… lope； a small piece of pink paper fell to the floor。
“What’s this？” I asked； picking up the paper and handing it to Rhonda。
Rhonda scanned the paper。 “Mom； look；” she said as tears rolled down her face。 “It was Christie； Christie Leeks。 Someone in the Saint Francis office must have put this receipt in Greg’s envelope by mistake。” Christie was making monthly payments of 120 for Greg’s tuition。
Christie Leeks was a young girl who had been in Rhonda’s first dance class at the high school where she had taught five years earlier。 Christie had lived in the Methodist Home as a ward of the state。 Rhonda and Gil had taken Christie and another student who lived at the foster home under their wings。 They