Tell a Story
Today was the first day of Chinese New Year. Every family living in this neighborhood prepared to go back to their hometown, and so does Charlene’s family.
Everyone was woken up early by Mother in the morning and busy preparing their luggages, because they were going back to Kaoshiung to celebrate Chinese New Year with their grandparents and relatives. Because during holidays the trains heading to southern Taiwan were always very crowded and Charlene’s family didn’t like to take a train fulling of people, they decided to drive for 4 hours from Taipei to Kaoshiung.
On the way back to Kaoshiung, Mother came up with an idea to kill time, that is, telling a story. At this moment, 4-year-old Charlene spoke up. She wanted to be the first to share her story. “What kind of story do you want to say, my dear?” Dad asked Charlene, “Are you going to say the story about a rabbit who is going to buy a drink and forget to bring money again?” “Yes, you always say that story.” said Mother and Brother, laughing happily. “No!” Charlene replied, speaking loudly and confidently, “This time, I promise I am going to say a story very different from that one.” To let Charlene feel confident in telling story, Mother looked kindly at Charlene and said “Okay, then what is your story about?”
“Once upon a time, there was a rabbit. Oh no, it was not a rabbit. It was a cat! And … she wanted to buy a drink, because … she was thirsty. When she arrived the store, she found that she forgot to bring … money! So, she went back home! The end.”
“Mom, Charlene always tells this story. We’ve already heard this story for hundreds of times,” said Brother. “No, I didn’t! I have changed my story. It’s not a story about a rabbit this time. It was a story about a cat!”


