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David Chen is one of excellent writers in our writing class.  He is a caring man because he loves his bird very much and takes care of her very well. There are a few stories about his bird and other stories sharing with you.

Happy Haunting, Not Hunting!

Halloween is coming up. Young people like it very much. They wear every variety of masks and costumes to pretend to be different ghosts, witches, and devils. At night they show up everywhere in the city. Suddenly the world looks like living hell. Some of them hang out on the streets. Some of them go into the stores and say, “Trick or treat.”

The store clerks welcome them and give them some candy. Some of them haunt people just for fun.

I live on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. On the past two Halloweens, I have had experiences that made a lasting impression on me. Last year, after the September 11th disaster, Halloween night was so quiet in Manhattan. I walked on the and felt nervous about it. To tell you the truth, I got a scare. On the street, only a few people walked and no ghosts showed up. All of them disappeared from sight. But on each street corner, a policeman was standing. The NYPD cars ran back forth in the street. I think that fear terrorized not only the people, but also the ghosts.

The year before last, when I was on the way home by bike on Halloween night, several “ghosts” hide behind the trees on the sidewalk. Suddenly they threw stones at me. One struck at the front wheel and the other struck at the rear wheel of my bike. At that moment, I understood they were hunting me. Fortunately, I was not hurt.

You know, haunting is fun, but hunting a man absolutely is a crime that could even lead to murder.

My Grandmother's Grandmother' Ghost Story                1   2 3

One day, When I was a little boy, my grandmother told me an old Chinese legend about ghosts. She said she heard about it from her grandmother too.

Once upon a time, a young couple lived in a small village with their old father. Not long after, their father died. One morning the wife said, “I saw my father come back to our house last night and he put on his usual clothes and did not say a word. Then he disappeared.” The husband did not believe it and said, “I’ve never seen a ghost in my life. If ghosts exist on the earth, why would only you be able to see them?” The wife confidently said, “I really saw him. The ghosts always show up at night,” The husband said, “I don’t believe what you saw, and seeing believes.” The wife stressed, “I am not lying to you. I saw your father clearly. At that moment, I wanted to wake you up, but the ghost suddenly disappeared.” They were arguing again and again but did not get a result. Finally, the both agreed to see a county officer for judgment.

The next day, a county officer interviewed them. The lady spoke first. “Your honor, I tell the truth. The night before last, I saw my father’s ghost come back to our house. He was so quiet and disappeared quickly.” The man said firmly, “Nonsense! I don’t believe that because I have never seen a ghost.”

Then the officer gave judgment and said, “The matter is so simple. Dear lady, you believe in ghosts, so ghosts exist. Dear gentleman, you do not believe in ghosts. Of course, ghosts do not exist. That is the resolution.”

Finally, my grandmother said the officer was right. She did not believe in ghosts either. Then she asked me, “Have you ever seen ghosts?” I replied, “Grandma, I haven’t seen any yet. I think they would scare me, wouldn’t they?” She explained to me, “There is an old Chinese saying, ‘A baby cow won’t be afraid of a tiger.’ Why? Because it has no experience. In the same way, you don’t know ghosts, so you won’t be afraid.”

A Smart Seagull

One night last month, I watched Channel 13 on TV. I saw a documentary called “Nature,” about very smart seagull. The story happened on a beach in Africa. Probably at noon, at low tide, a seagull flies over the beach. Suddenly it comes down and claws a big clam and flies up to a certain height. It finds a huge stone on the shore and drops the clam sown to the stone. Unfortunately, the clan shell does not freak. The seagull watches it and comes down and claws the clam up again. This time, maybe it flies to a greater height and drops the clam sown. Success! The clamshells broken in pieces. The seagull carries the meat and flies away.

I was shocked. I have never seen any birds do that like a human being does. Let me give an example: What if someone gave me a live, big clam and asked me how to open it without knife? I would open the clam in one of two ways: I could use a piece of rock to crush the shell, or I could lift up the clam and throw it to the ground. Of course, the latter is an easy way. It is incredible that an adult seagull has a brain as big as one cubic centimeter, but it is as smart as a human being.

Somebody may say that action is an instinct of birds, but I do not think so. First, there were so many seagulls over there, why was there only one that was able to do that? Second, why did not I see many broken shells left on the spot? Third, after the first dropping failed, the seagull did it again until the shell was broken. Who knows why?

Obviously, geniuses exist in the world, but they are rare. For example, that seagull is a very smart bird. In the animal kingdom, the is a clever guide dog that led a blind man down 78 floors too safety. There were geniuses like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton in human society.

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By David Chen               A story of My Little Bird will be continuing on the next page!   1  2   3