What treasures could possibly be hiding in a box Grandma never opens? Turns out it’s a whole lifetime of adventures—from Egyptian pyramids to Icelandic green lights. But Grandma’s favorite place might surprise you.
Key vocab
古老 – gǔ lǎo – ancient, old
金字塔 – jīn zì tǎ – pyramid
叶子 – yè zi – leaf
贝壳 – bèi ké – seashell
火车票 – huǒ chē piào – train ticket
星星 – xīng xing – star
光滑 – guāng huá – smooth
总是 – zǒng shì – always
从来 – cóng lái – ever, always (used with negation)
奶奶的旧木箱子
奶奶床底下有一个旧木箱子。小孙女知道那个箱子，但是奶奶从来不打开它。
有一天，小孙女问：”奶奶，箱子里有什么？”
奶奶笑了，把箱子拉出来，慢慢打开。里面有很多小东西。
她拿出一块黄色的小石头。”这是埃及的。那里有很古老的金字塔。沙子很热，太阳很大。”
她拿出一片红色的叶子，已经干了，但是颜色还很好看。”这是加拿大的。秋天的树都变红了，很漂亮。但是很冷。”
她拿出一个小贝壳。”这是泰国的。海水很蓝很清，可以看到海底。那里的人总是笑着。”
她拿出一张旧火车票。”这是印度的。我坐了两天火车。很慢，但是窗外一直有东西看。”
她拿出一个小木头人。”这是肯尼亚的。晚上的天空有很多很多星星。我从来没有看过那么多。”
她拿出最后一样东西——一块黑色的光滑小石头。”这是冰岛的。很冷，没有树。但是晚上天上有绿色的光。”
小孙女看着这些东西，不说话。
“奶奶，你最喜欢哪个地方？”她问。
奶奶关上箱子，想了很长时间。
“这里，”她说。”因为你在这里。”
Grandma’s Old Wooden Box
Under Grandma’s bed there was an old wooden box. The little granddaughter knew about that box, but Grandma never opened it.
One day, the little granddaughter asked, “Grandma, what’s inside the box?”
Grandma smiled, pulled the box out, and slowly opened it. Inside were many small things.
She took out a small yellow stone. “This is from Egypt. There are very ancient pyramids there. The sand is very hot, and the sun is very strong.”
She took out a red leaf, already dried, but the color was still very pretty. “This is from Canada. In autumn the trees all turn red, it’s very beautiful. But it’s very cold.”
She took out a small seashell. “This is from Thailand. The sea water is very blue and clear, you can see the seabed. The people there are always smiling.”
She took out an old train ticket. “This is from India. I rode the train for two days. It was very slow, but there was always something to see outside the window.”
She took out a little wooden figure. “This is from Kenya. The night sky has many, many stars. I had never seen so many.”
She took out the last thing—a smooth, small black stone. “This is from Iceland. It’s very cold, with no trees. But at night there are green lights in the sky.”
The little granddaughter looked at these things and said nothing.
“Grandma, which place do you like best?” she asked.
Grandma closed the box and thought for a long time.
“Here,” she said. “Because you are here.”
