When my daughter was in primary school, she brought home four small twigs (嫩枝) from school to plant. None of them looked very hardy, but with hope for the future, I planted them somewhere in our backyard that had enough sunlight. Over the years, because of the poor soil (土壤), three of them died. Only one was alive.
It grew very slowly. And it didn't look like a tree because it was only a little taller than the grass in my backyard. Later, I found that it was starting to die. Most leaves of the poor plant were turning yellow and falling down.Only the top third of the tree was still green. I did my best to save it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer(肥料)，but it didn't work.
Later one morning, I went out and looked at it again. I was wondering if it would be better to just cut it down. It would make the yard look cleaner. As I walked over to take a closer look at it, however, I noticed something moving with in the leaves. It was a bird carefully building a nest in the topmost branches. I smiled when I Iooked at it. I thought maybe this old tree wass till useful. It might not be healthy or pretty but it was still giving a bird a home.
This tree reminded me that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn't matter if we are young and healthy or old and sick. Until our last breath, we have things to do, love to give, and joy to share. We can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.
