On a farm lived a father and a son. The father always got up early and read books by the stove. One morning， the son came up to him and said， "Dad， I read books at night but forget most of them the next morning. What's the good of reading？"
The father didn't reply right away. He passed him a basket that was used to carry coal. He said， "Get some water from the river with the basket and then I'll tell you the answer. "
The son felt surprised but he did as his father said. He tried many times but every time the water leaked （漏掉） from the basket.
An hour later， the son came back with the empty basket and told his father he failed. The father said with a smile， "Yes， my son. The basket can't hold water. But did you notice the basket was different？" Just then the son found the basket wasn't dirty any more. The father continued， "Reading is like holding water with the basket. We can't hope to remember all we read， but we have changed while reading. "
