Sometimes takes a stranger to remind you of what you’ve been taking for granted all along. This short story follows a teenage girl who storms out after a fight at home and learns, through an unexpected encounter, to appreciate the people who love her the most.
小美是一个十六岁的女孩。有一天,她和妈妈吵架了,非常生气,就跑出了家门。
她走了很久,天黑了,肚子也饿了。可是她没有带钱,什么也买不了。她站在一家小馄饨店门口,看着里面的热气,眼泪快要流下来了。
老板娘看见了她,问:’小姑娘,你怎么了?’ 小美说:’我很饿,但是没有钱。’老板娘微笑着说:’没关系,我请你吃一碗馄饨吧。’
小美吃着热腾腾的馄饨,感动地说:’谢谢您!您比我妈妈还好,我妈妈根本不关心我!’
老板娘听了,认真地说:’孩子,我只给你做了一碗馄饨,你就这么感谢我。可是你妈妈给你做了十六年的饭,你有没有谢过她呢?’
小美愣住了。她想起妈妈每天早起做早餐,想起妈妈生病时还照顾她。她放下碗,对老板娘说了声谢谢,就跑回家去了。
到家时,妈妈正站在门口焦急地等着她。小美跑过去,紧紧抱住妈妈说:’妈妈,对不起!’
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 美 | Měi | (bound form) the Americas (abbr. for 美洲[Mei3 zhou1]); (bound form) USA (abbr. for 美國|美国[Mei3 guo2]) |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 十六 | shí lìu | sixteen; 16 |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 女孩 | nu:3 hái | girl; lass |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 吵 | chǎo | to quarrel; to make a noise; noisy; to disturb by making a noise |
| 架 | jiǎ | to support; rack; classifier for planes, large vehicles, radios etc |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 生气 | shēng qì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 跑出 | pǎo chū | to run out |
| 家门 | jiā mén | house door; family clan |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
| 天黑 | tiān hēi | to get dark; dusk |
| 肚 | dǔ | tripe |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 饿 | è | hungry; to starve (sb) |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 钱 | Qián | surname Qian |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy; to purchase |
| 不了 | bù le | no thanks (used to politely but informally decline) |
| 站 | zhàn | station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 一家 | yī jiā | the whole family; the same family; the family ... (when preceded by a family name); group |
| 馄 | ||
| 饨 | ||
| 店 | diàn | inn; old-style hotel (CL:家[jia1]); (bound form) shop; store |
| 门口 | mén kǒu | doorway; gate; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 热气 | rè qì | steam; heat; CL:股[gu3] |
| 眼 | yǎn | eye (CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1]); (often used with 一[yi1]) a look; a glance; small hole; (bound form) salient point; classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc |
| 泪 | lěi | (bound form) tears; teardrops |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 老板娘 | lǎo bǎn niáng | female proprietor; lady boss; boss's wife |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 姑 | gū | paternal aunt; husband's sister; husband's mother (old); nun; for the time being (literary) |
| 娘 | niáng | mother; young lady; (coll.) effeminate; variant of 娘[niang2] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 微笑 | wēi xiào | smile; CL:個|个[ge4],絲|丝[si1]; to smile |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 系 | xì | to connect; to relate to; to tie up; to bind; to be (literary); system; department; faculty; to tie; to fasten; to button up |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 碗 | wǎn | variant of 碗[wan3]; bowl; cup; CL:隻|只[zhi1],個|个[ge4] |
| 吧 | bā | bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang; abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1] |
| 热腾腾 | rè téng téng | steaming hot; (fig.) bustling; hectic; (fig.) excited; stirred up; (fig.) created only a short time before; freshly minted; hot off the press; (coll.) also pr. [re4 teng1 teng1] |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 谢谢 | xiè xie | to thank; thanks; thank you |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 还好 | hái hǎo | not bad; pretty good; fortunately; luckily |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 本 | běn | (bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; origina… |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 认真 | rèn zhēn | conscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously; to take to heart |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 谢 | Xiè | surname Xie |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 饭 | fàn | cooked rice; CL:碗[wan3]; meal; CL:頓|顿[dun4]; (loanword) fan; devotee |
| 有没有 | yǒu méi yǒu | (before a noun) Do (you, they etc) have ...?; Is there a ...?; (before a verb) Did (you, they etc) (verb, infinitive)?; Have (you, they etc) (verb, past participle)? |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 愣 | lěng | to look distracted; distracted; (coll.) unexpectedly; rashly |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 想起 | xiǎng qǐ | to recall; to think of; to call to mind |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 早起 | zǎo qǐ | to get up early |
| 早餐 | zǎo cān | breakfast; CL:份[fen4],頓|顿[dun4],次[ci4] |
| 生病 | shēng bìng | to fall ill |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 照顾 | zhào gu | to take care of; to show consideration; to attend to; to look after |
| 放下 | fàng xià | to lay down; to put down; to let go of; to relinquish; to set aside; to lower (the blinds etc) |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 声 | shēng | sound; voice; tone; noise; reputation; classifier for sounds |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 到家 | dào jiā | perfect; excellent; brought to the utmost degree |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 焦急 | jiāo jí | anxiety; anxious |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 紧 | jǐn | tight; strict; close at hand; near; urgent; tense; hard up; short of money; to tighten |
| 抱 | bào | to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug; to embrace; to surround; to cherish; (coll.) (of clothes) to fit nicely |
| 对不起 | duì bu qǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
Xiaomei was a sixteen-year-old girl. One day, she had an argument with her mother. Very angry, she ran out of the house.
She walked for a long time. It got dark, and she became hungry. But she had not brought any money and could not buy anything. She stood at the entrance of a small wonton shop, looking at the steam inside, tears almost falling down.
The shop owner saw her and asked, ‘Little girl, what is wrong?’ Xiaomei said, ‘I am very hungry, but I have no money.’ The owner smiled and said, ‘No problem, let me treat you to a bowl of wontons.’
Xiaomei ate the steaming hot wontons and said gratefully, ‘Thank you! You are even better than my mother. My mother does not care about me at all!’
The owner heard this and said seriously, ‘Child, I only made you one bowl of wontons, and you are so thankful. But your mother has cooked for you for sixteen years. Have you ever thanked her?’
Xiaomei was stunned. She remembered her mother getting up early every day to make breakfast, and how her mother took care of her even when she was sick. She put down the bowl, thanked the owner, and ran back home.
When she arrived home, her mother was standing anxiously at the door waiting for her. Xiaomei ran over, hugged her mother tightly, and said, ‘Mom, I am sorry!’