Never Underestimate
佚名 / Anonymous
This story happened sixteen years ago. My son is now 22 years old， but when I look at him even as a grown man， I remember the small child with the tears.
We had a female cat who was ready to give birth to her kittens. And like all young children， my son was curious and excited to see the birth of these new babies. I felt he was old enough to view this miraculous event. So I answered all his questions and prepared him the best I could so he wouldn’t be shocked or scared.
The night the blessed event took place， one kitten had been born by the time my son arrived home from school. He was so thrilled and amazed at what he saw. He would lay his hand on the mother cat’s belly and feel the other kittens moving and awaiting their turn to be born. When the mother cat began to yell very loudly， it was clear the second was on its way.
My son watched but never said a word. When the second kitten was born and the mother was busy taking care of it， preparing for the next， my son asked me， “Mommy， how come she cries so loud when the baby comes？” In my delight of having my son wanting to view this miraculous event and thinking I had prepared him for it， I had not thought to explain about the pain of giving birth. Not wanting to take anything away from the miracle he was witnessing， I tried to explain to him that it was not a hurtful pain but a pain of great pleasure for the mother cat， knowing her babies would soon be born.
When the birth of the third kitten became obvious by the crying of the mother， I glanced at my son to offer words of comfort if he showed signs of it becoming too stressful for him. When I looked at his face， he had tears rolling down his cheeks. So I asked him why he was crying and he looked up at me and said， “Mommy， I’m sorry I gave you all that pain to have me.”
I thought my heart had stopped. It was all I could do to contain myself from grabbing him and just holding him close to me， but I knew I couldn’t have him thinking that his birth was something that caused me pain in the way he was thinking. With a careful choice of words and reassurance， I told him his birth has done nothing but brought smiles to my life and that I would go through it 100 times—that the pain meant so little compared to the joy of having him.
He gave me this big hug and then he said， “Mommy， I know why the kittens come out that end.” I asked him why and he said， “Because the other end has got teeth.” I was laughing so much inside， I thought I would burst. The things a child will notice that an adult takes for granted will always surprise me.
My son is a grown man now but he and I always remember that day so well and he still says today the memory for him was finally understanding what the word “love” meant. The memory for me was feeling the love of my child as he wrapped his arms around me and gave me the biggest hug he had ever given me. Never under-estimate what your child is capable of understanding， or more important， the logic they use to understand what they are seeing or hearing.
这个故事发生在16年前。虽然儿子现在22岁了，可看着已经长大的他，我想起了小时候他眼中含泪的样子。
那时，我家养的母猫快要有宝宝了。跟所有的小孩子一样，想看小猫出生的儿子又好奇又兴奋。对于这种奇妙的场面，我觉得儿子也到了可以观看的年龄了。因此，为了避免到时候他太震惊或被吓倒，对他我是有问必答，尽可能让他做好准备。
那晚猫宝宝要诞生了。儿子从学校回来时，一只小猫刚刚出生。看到眼前的一切，儿子吃惊得发抖。他把手放在猫妈妈的腹部，感觉那些等待出生的小猫在动。猫妈妈开始大叫时，这意味着第二只小猫就要出生了。
看着这一幕，儿子一言不发。直到第二只小猫出生，猫妈妈忙着照顾它，并准备迎接下一个的时候，儿子问我：“妈咪，为什么宝宝出生的时候，猫妈妈叫得那么大声呢？”能让儿子看到这神奇的一刻，我非常高兴，我以为做好了所有的准备，根本没想过分娩时的痛苦该如何去给他解释。但为了不让儿子错过目睹奇迹的任何细节，我试着跟他解释说这是没有伤害的痛苦。对于知道自己孩子即将降生的猫妈妈来说，是痛并快乐着。
母猫又叫了起来，显然，第三只小猫就要出生了。我瞥了一眼儿子，如果他看到眼前的情形而紧张的话，我会给他一些安慰的。我看到泪水从他的脸颊上滚落了下来，我问他为什么哭，他抬头看着我说：“妈咪，我很抱歉出生的时候给你带来那么多痛苦。”
那一刻我的心脏仿佛停止了跳动，我只能紧紧地把他搂在怀里。但我知道，不能让他总认为出生时给我带来了痛苦。于是为了让儿子放心，我小心谨慎地组织着语言。我对他说，他的出生为我的生活带来了欢笑，并没有让我痛苦，即使经历100次我也愿意。因为那点痛苦和拥有他的欢乐相比，实在是微不足道。
儿子给了我一个热情的拥抱，然后说：“妈咪，我明白为什么小猫从那一头出来了。”我问他原因，他说：“因为另一头有牙齿。”我几乎差点笑出来。有些事，大人习以为常，而孩子却总有让我大吃一惊的新奇发现。
现在儿子也已经长大成人，但那一天会永远清晰地留在我们的记忆中。今天他还说，那段美好的回忆让他最终了解了“爱”这个词的含义。而我唯一记得的是儿子给我的爱，那是有生以来他给我的最热烈的拥抱。对孩子的理解能力永远也不要低估，更重要的是，永远也不要低估孩子理解所见所闻的逻辑思维能力。
记忆填空
1. The night the blessed took place， one kitten had been born the time my son arrived home from . He was so thrilled and amazed what he saw. He would lay his hand on the mother cat’s belly and the other kittens moving and awaiting their to be born.
2. When the birth of the third became obvious by the crying of the mother， I glanced at my son to words of comfort if he showed of it becoming too stressful for him. When I looked at his face， he had rolling down his cheeks. So I asked him he was crying and he looked up at me and said，“Mommy， I’m sorry I gave you all that to have me.”
佳句翻译
1. 跟所有的小孩子一样，想看小猫出生的儿子又好奇又兴奋。
2. 我对他说，他的出生为我的生活带来了欢笑，并没有让我痛苦，即使经历100次我也愿意。
3. 今天他还说，那段美好的回忆让他最终了解了“爱”这个词的含义。
短语应用
1. The night the blessed event took place， one kitten had been born by the time my son arrived home from school.
take place：发生；举行
2. ...I told him his birth has done nothing but brought smiles to my life and that I would go through it 100 times...
nothing but：只有；只不过
