Mr. Baumann smiled and assured his wife that the man was probably feeling better than ever. But Mrs. Baumann decided she’d better go down to the 17）chapel to pray for both Bernie and the man she’d kissed—and perhaps made worse！
A few days later the doctor dropped by Mr. Baumann’s room for his final checkup. “Mrs. Baumann，” he said， “you’ll be glad to know that your husband and my patient 18）across the hall have both made 19）miraculous recoveries. Do you suppose it was my good 20）doctoring， your prayers， or your passionate kisses？”
“Why， why...”she 21）fumbled.
“Maybe it was all three？” the doctor added with a 22）wink.
医生曾经提醒过鲍曼夫妇，鲍曼先生极有可能会心脏病发作。然而，当鲍曼先生病发的时候，鲍曼太太还是手足无措，显得毫无心理准备。在救护车上，守在丈夫身旁的她又惊又怕，恐慌不已，不断地啼哭着。
到了医院，护士们不得不把鲍曼太太从她丈夫身旁拉开，以便医生可以给鲍曼先生做检查。等到医生们成功地使鲍曼先生的病情稳定下来之后，鲍曼太太立即冲到医院大厅的电话旁，给七个孩子逐个打电话。身心疲惫、但同时也如释重负的鲍曼太太含泪把丈夫心脏病发作的事告诉了七个孩子，然后安慰他们说，父亲的病情已经稳定了。
但是，当鲍曼太太回到丈夫的病房时，眼前的一幕让她大吃一惊——只见两位护士站在她丈夫身旁，躺在病床上的鲍曼先生那颤抖不止的身体上插满了管子，各种仪器和监视器在“嘀嘀”地响个不停。他面色通红，正艰难地喘着气。
“你们都对我丈夫做了些什么？”鲍曼太太叫喊道。
其中一位护士用尽可能同情的口吻解释说，他刚刚突发严重中风。
中风！心脏病加中风！鲍曼太太再也抑制不住了。伤心欲绝的她被泪水模糊了双眼，她一把抱起丈夫的头，把他紧紧搂在怀里，呼唤着他的名字，吻着他的双唇。
这时，一位医生走了进来，问道：“鲍曼太太，你知道自己在干什么吗？”
鲍曼太太转向这位医生，厉声斥责道：“医生，我倒想问你，你对我丈夫做了些什么？”
医生摇了摇头，呵呵笑了起来：“鲍曼太太，那不是你丈夫呀！”
一时间，鲍曼太太愣住了，好久说不出话来。接着，她仔细地看了看床上的那名男子。
“他……他……不是！” 鲍曼太太大声叫道，脸颊顿时变得绯红，“噢，不！噢，我的天啊！噢，不！”
一位护士斯文地陪同鲍曼太太走出那名男子的病房，来到医院大厅。
“为什么那名男子不制止我呢？” 鲍曼太太疑惑地问。
“因为他中风了，不能动弹也不能说话，”护士回答说。
鲍曼太太倒吸一口气。“他一定在纳闷，这素不相识的女人为什么会亲他！”
当她们回到鲍曼先生的病房时，鲍曼太太马上扑到丈夫身边，亲吻他。接着，她心有余悸地向丈夫讲述了自己刚才犯的错误。“他身上插满了管子……真希望我没有弄疼他，伯尼！”
鲍曼先生微笑着安慰妻子，说那名男子也许从未有过如此美妙的感觉。尽管如此，鲍曼太太还是决定下楼到医院的小教堂去为她的丈夫，还有那个被她吻过的男人祈祷——也不知道他怎么样了，也许自己的吻加重了他的病情！
几天以后，主治医生来到鲍曼先生的病房，为他做出院前的最后一次检查。“鲍曼太太，” 医生说，“有个消息一定会让你很高兴，你丈夫和大厅对面病房里的那位病人都奇迹般地康复了。你认为，这应该归功于我精湛的医术、你虔诚的祈祷，还是你那激情四溢的吻呢？”
“这，这……” 鲍曼太太支支吾吾地说。
“或许三者都兼而有之？”医生眨了眨眼，补充道。
Footprints of love
爱的足迹
There were two strolling hearts that reposed on a huge rock at a shore. As the sunset revealed its passion， they watched over the two sets of footprints they engraved in the sand. The scene had made them think of eternity—each step engraved a zeal of an endless love.
But such heart-felt scene ended when the waves of the sea rushed towards the shore and washed the sand， leaving the sets of footprints unseen. Suddenly， the lovely sunset was covered with dark clouds and the soft breeze altered into a fierce wind. And the rock that both of them once dreamt was left alone， all alone...
When we fall in love， it is our great desire to let the feeling remain in hearts. We feed this feeling by clinging to the other. Sometimes the demand for satisfaction is needed because of the fear of starving the heart. As we march towards the odyssey of our lives， we may pass to the point wherein our hearts become empty and longing. We feel the need to quench ourselves by seeking the oasis of love. Still， there are hearts that remain at lost and leave themselves to die and wither.
Many of us find it easy to play the melodies of love， but when things get rough and out of tune， we would actually avoid it and sometimes， go silent. There is also a tendency to give up and escape from the reality.
We must remember that the more we unravel the wonders of love， the more challenges we have to take. The sweetness of life"s bitter can be achieved if we accept the challenges of love. This acceptance motivates us to grow.
Then we will begin to walk again at the shore and engrave new sets of footprints in the sand， accepting the truth that these footprints really disappear through the waves of time. We will also realize that every step we take marks a new experience and breeds new seeds of love. Time will come when we will notice another set of footprints joining us in our journey and become our partners for life.
海岸上，一对来这里散步的恋人靠在一块巨石上小憩。在灿烂的夕阳余辉下，他们凝望着自己留在沙滩上的两行脚印。此情此景让他们想到了天长地久——每一个脚印就记载了无尽的爱的激情。
但是，当海浪涌上海岸，冲刷沙滩，模糊了那一串串脚印，这醉人的画面就荡然无存了。突然，可爱的夕阳被乌云遮挡，柔柔的轻风幻化成凛冽的寒风。只剩下曾经出现在他们梦里的那块石头，孤零零地，孤零零地伫立着……
当我们坠入爱河的时候，最大的愿望是让那一份浓情蜜意永远停驻在彼此心底。我们与对方相依相偎，以此来浇灌这份真情。有时候，出于对寂寞的恐惧，对满足感的需求就必不可少。当我们开始向自己生命中的奥德赛进发，可能会有内心空虚，渴望关爱的时刻。我们发觉需要找寻一块爱的绿洲来获得慰藉。然而，也有一些心灵还迷失在这旅途中，最终慢慢枯萎直至凋零。
许多人觉得演奏爱的乐章是件容易事，但是当情感遭遇波折，出现了不和谐的音符，我们就会回避这件事，有时会默默走开。很多人倾向于放弃，逃避现实。
我们必须记住，发现爱的奇迹越多，接受的挑战就越大。如果我们接受了爱的挑战，就收获了苦涩生活的甜蜜。这种接受激励我们成长。
那么，就让我们再次回到那海岸，在那里留下一串串新的足迹，并且坦然接受这些足迹会在岁月长河中消失的事实。我们也要意识到，每一个脚印都标志着一段新的经历，种下了新的爱的种子。当我们注意到有另一串脚印加入进来，成为我们生活中的一部分，爱就来了。
A Very Short Love Story
初恋
She was my first and foolish love. In the half-light of the morning I lay awake waiting for her quiet， almost silent feet to come down the hallway， for her scent—a curious mixture of honey and peach—to part the thick air outside my room filled with the lonely smells of young men living away from home. She would pause outside my door for a moment to put on her slippers before climbing the two steps down into the kitchen， and my foolish imagination would swell with the shadowy silhouette of her lingering by my door， a phantom more real than anything I could have seen with my open eyes. Every morning， every morning， I waited like that， for the circles of azure and gold and auburn to gather like clouds inside my closed eyelids as I felt her steps down the hallway over my body， and for the clouds to burst suddenly and reveal her large and limpid eyes framed with demure lashes， the ghost of a smile on her bud-like lips. Stretching out my arms toward the naked light bulb， my eyes still closed， I would cry out love and agony， muted by my blanket—I love you more than you will ever know， your image will be a fever that will last a lifetime in my brain， your name a poem heard deep， deep inside my ears， and I will tremble with tenderness and desire fro you at a mere imagined touch of your hand， always.
