Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance(认识的人). I have forgotten the name of the old lady to whom I delivered newspapers but I can't forget the lesson she taught me in forgiveness .
On a winter afternoon, a friend and I were throwing stones onto the roof of the old lady's house . I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and threw it out. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight not for the roof but for a small window of the house.
At the sound of broken glass, we knew we were in trouble. We turned and ran away fast. I was too scared about getting caught that first night by the old lady with the broken window. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn't been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune.
She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortable in her presence. I made up my mind that I would save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I thought would cover the cost of her window.
I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that the seven dollars would cover the cost for repairing it. I waited until dark, and put the letter I didn't sign in her letter box.
The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her.
She thanked me for the paper and gave me a bag of cookies she had made herself. I thanked her and ate the cookies happily.
After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was stunned. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said, "I'm proud of you."
