初中一年级下册英语作文大全(最新19篇)

Last year, my friend gave me a little dog. i was fond of him very much. i liked to play with him after school and he liked to follow me wherever i went. i was very glad that i had a "body guard".

Last winter i was very busy with my lessons and came home very late every day.however, no matter how late i went home, my dog used to stand at a comer near my school waiting for me. when i passed there, he barked two or three times then ran towards me. it seemed that he was calling me.

My dog not only,took good care of me, but also was respoasible at home. when strangers came to my house, he barked at them but not hurt them. what a lovely dog he is! (135 words)

我家的小狗

去年，朋友送我一只小狗，我非常喜欢它，放学后就和它一起玩耍，无论我走到哪儿它都跟在身后。我很高兴有这样一位“保镖”。

去年冬天我忙于功课，每天回家都很晚。然而无论我到家多晚，这只小狗总是在学校附近的一个角落处等我。当我从那经过时，它全冲我叫两声然后跑过来，似乎它是在叫我。

我家的狗不但对我照顾周到，而且还肩负着看家的重任，每当有陌生人来到我家，它总是叫个不停，但并不咬他们。多么可爱的一只狗啊!

Xiamen is a major city on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of

China.It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province .

The local vernacular is Amoy,a dialect of Southern Min,also called

Hokkien.Amoy is widely used and understood across the southern region of Fujian

province as well as overseas.While it is widely spoken in and around Xiamen,the

Amoy dialect has no official status,and the official language of all government

business is Mandarin.

Xiamen and its surrounding countryside is known for its scenery and

tree-lined beaches.Gulangyu,also known as Piano Island,is a popular weekend

getaway with views of the city and features many Victorian-era style European

edifices.Xiamens Botanical Garden is a nature lovers paradise.The Buddhist

Nanputuo Temple,dating back to the Tang Dynasty,is a national treasure.Xiamen is

also famous for its history as a frontline in the Chinese Civil War with Taiwan

over Jinmen (also known as Jinmen or Quemoy) 50 years ago.One attraction for

tourists is to view Kinmen,a group of islands a few kilometres away and under

Taiwanese control,from Xiamen island.

Dear teacher and classmates:

I am very glad to make a speech here in this class again! This time, Id like to talk something about English.

I love English. English language is now used everywhere in the world. It has become the most common language on Internet and for international trade. Learning English makes me confident and brings me great pleasure.

When I was seven, my mother sent me to an English school. At there, I played games and sang English songs with other children . Then I discovered the beauty of the language, and began my colorful dream in the English world.

Everyday, I read English following the tapes. Sometimes, I watch English cartoons.

On the weekend, I often go to the English corner. By talking with different people there, I have made more and more friends as well as improved my oral English.

I hope I can travel around the world someday. I want to go to America to visit Washington Monument, because the president Washington is my idol. Of course, I want to go to London too, because England is where English language developed. If I can ride my bike in Cambridge university, I will be very happy.

I hope I can speak English with everyone in the world. Ill introduce China to them, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Anshan.

I know, Rome was not built in a day. I believe that after continuous hard study, one day I can speak English very well.

If you want to be loved, you should learn to love and be lovable. So I believe as I love English everyday , it will love me too.

[初中英语作文：我爱学习英语

Sports do us good in many respects.It goes without saying that taking

exercises can build up our physical strength. In collective sports like

basketball, volleyball, or football, we will learn the importance of

cooperation. While taking part in sports game, we will try our best to win and

arouse ourselves the competitive spirit. Sports can also help us relax after a

period of exhausting work. However, as the saying goes, "there are two sides to

everything", and sports is without exception. We may hurt other players or

ourselves if we are not careful enough when participating in sports activities.

Whats more, excessive or severe training can do harm to our health.

My participation in sports tells me that sports can make us healthy both

physically and psychologically. It is also a good way for people to know each

other and can promote friendship between people. So long as we are carefully

enough, sports can do us nothing but good.

本来想吃完饭就开始写作文了，但有一些事情耽搁了。我在网上买的隐形眼镜到了，透明的那种，看那些评论说好我才买的，32元啊！我咬咬牙还是买了。到的时候，我迫不及待地打开，果然，跟店家描述的一样。戴上去后眼镜没有什么不适，而且跟没戴的一样，完全看不出来。以前买的是美瞳，但美瞳仔细一看，就知道你戴了美瞳。我还白白浪费了五十多啊！心疼我那些钱啊！我视力不好，还坐在倒数第二排，戴眼镜？我觉得好难看喔，还不如隐形眼镜。但戴多了也不好，我会尽量少戴的。

姐姐去打了美白针，她跟我说她变白了，上网查了一下美白针的危害。在姐姐打美白针前，我劝过她不要打，危害很大的。可她偏不听。偏要打美白针。我的皮肤也算黑，在班里我还算不上是最黑的。看到班长的皮肤那么白，我好羡慕啊！我经常待在家里，不去晒太阳，自然而然就白。我呢！小时候特别喜欢出去玩，妈妈劝过我不要总出去晒太阳，会变黑的。我没有往心里去。现在，看着我黝黑的皮肤，我好后悔啊！“不听老人言，吃亏在眼前。”我曾经都是不相信的，现在我彻底的信了，妈妈是过来人，我应该多听她的话，不然由我后悔的。国庆放假日期出来了，放假七天，上课七天，总感觉放没放都一样。放假期间我要抓紧复习了，一回校，就要考数学和语文。上次数学我不及格，下次我一定要提高我的成绩。

“数学好难唉！”我有力无气地趴在桌子上。“你多看书就懂了嘛！”妈妈接话。我翻了翻书，完全看不下去，最后还是做别的事情了。国庆那会儿有的是时间，到时候抽一天出来看书，就这样办。瞧，我多机智。我傻傻的笑。妈妈像怪物一样看我，我不理会。

逢喜事时，好心情给人幸福甜蜜；遇挑战时，好心情让人自信乐观。给自己一份好心情，生活中处处盛开艳丽的花朵；给别人一份好心情，人世间时时洒满明媚的阳光。每天拥有一份好心情，每天也会拥有一份快乐。

一个早晨，刚到学校，同学们都在议论上星期的考试考得怎么样，看来有的人已经知道自己的成绩了，只是试卷还未发而已。

第一节课的时候，老师抱着试卷进了教室，发完试卷，老师说：“这一次的考试整体情况还不错，同学们都考得比较好，只是有个别同学发挥失常，考得不怎么样。”我考得还不错，下课我去找好朋友，看她愁眉苦脸的样子，想必她这次可能考得不好吧。我问她：“你怎么了，心情不好吗？”说着，她便拿出试卷来给我看，“唉，你看，我考这么差。”这一次，她的确发挥失常，看着好朋友难过的样子，我的心情也好不到哪去。于是，我打算帮她改变坏心情，让她拥有一份好心情。

我们放学后，一起去了公园，迎着风，吹散了不愉快，带来了好心情，我们说说笑笑，在大自然中，我带给了她一份好心情，她和我一样，也拥有了一份好心情。

拥有好心情，就像拥有了一份阳光，给人温暖，生活中如果每个人都能拥有一份好心情，快乐也会多一点点围绕，当我们自己拥有一份好心情时，自己会很幸福，带给别人快乐时，空中会多一些白云和阳光！

好心情，给自己，也给别人。

Our art teather is not too young and not too old .She has black hair two big and black eyes ,a big mouth and a small nose .

Look, She is wearing a blue and white jacket ,a blue hat ,brown pants and a pair of old shoes.She is very funny.

She is a good art teather .we all like her .

星期天早上7：00睁大眼睛，醒了，起床了。梳洗完毕，走出去，看了看饭桌――怎么没早餐？妈妈怎么搞的，明知我一个星期才回来一次，一点爱的蜜糖都不给我舔舔，感觉真的很不爽。也许，她出去买菜吧，可能一会儿就回来并且带着可口的早餐，还是等等吧。

打开了电视，坐在沙发上，右手按着遥控，眼睛不停地跟着电视画面转。转了一分钟，停下来了――终于找到了挺喜欢看的了。于是，大脑开始吸收电视剧的养分，让我笑，让我哭……

1个钟头过去了，突然间对音乐特别喜爱，不但听音乐，自己还打起鼓了，有点摇滚音乐的味道，如电视屏幕直播的摇滚音乐会的音乐，挺让人激情澎湃的……时间一点一点地过去了，看着电视屏幕里的麦克风，觉得好像我钟爱的巧克力雪糕，跳舞的演员就像一只只舞动的烧鸡腿，正在向我走来，一步一步……电视后面的金黄色的时钟就像一块大大的薄饼，而且是我最喜欢吃的芝士薄饼，电视旁边的音箱就像一条巨大的巧克力冰棍，是那么的吸引……

12：00怎么妈妈去买菜那么久？一说曹操，曹操就到。妈妈回来了，但并没有带着食物，只拿了工作的手提包。

“妈妈，我的饺子呢？”“什么饺子？”“你不是去买菜吗？”“我去上班了，我想你都那么大了，而且家里有那么多食物，你可以随便拿些当早餐吃。”……

肚子好饿，冰箱里好像有东西吃，去拿吧。冰箱？那么远！十几米路程阿，不去了，算了，不吃了，饿一饿算了，就当减肥……

[初中一年级作文：现代

“家里何时来了这东西？”我惊讶的对老妈说。“来了半年多了，你啊你，整天玩电脑，家里有啥你都不知道了。”老妈又借题发挥的训斥我了。

一边听着老妈那如雷贯耳的训斥，我一边欣赏着这盆东西。或许是刚下过雨的缘故，这盆东西上面挂着些许露珠。走近些，看，这盆东西把整个花盆都据为己有了。它颜色是碧绿的，就像刚刚发芽的柳条，叶子是三角形，边上有些许的小刺，不要紧，它不会刺痛你的。叶子两边是凸起的，中间凹进去，有些小摇篮的味道。咦，它还有些小斑点，让我感觉好奇妙。

嘿，心里涌上了一种邪念，把它折断，会怎么样呀？趁老妈不注意，我把这东西的叶子折断了些下来。哎呀，怎么这么藕断丝连呀，难道是叶子的汁？粘粘糊糊的。“这个是芦荟，它的汁液可以美容的噢！”老妈突然在我后面说话，吓了我一跳。

突然对这种植物感到莫名的好奇，于是我上网“百度百度”了一番。原来这盆东西叫芦荟，它有的能食用，有的能装点家居，有的能药用……最让我感到惊奇的是，芦荟做成的产品竟是人类保健的天使，它能调节人体的新陈代谢，提高人体的免疫力，还能用于多种疾病的的辅助治疗……

自然界的万物真是多种多样，最让我佩服莫过于芦荟，它竟能为人类做如此多的贡献，可它从未抱怨过什么，凡物都有用尽的时候，像芦荟这种珍宝我们更应该多加保护，让它一直能造福人类。

每家都有“珍品”。有的是关于财物方面的，有的是关于品质方面的，有的是关于道德方面的，还有的是关于亲情方面的。我要讲的“珍品”就是父母对我的爱。

母爱如春

我家的生活条件不太好，今年爸爸不得不去高速公路上打工。于是，生活的重任便压在了妈妈的肩上。她整天不闲着，忙这忙那。我每次看到这种情形，都劝她休息一下，她却总是说：“我累点没啥，只要你能好好学习就行了。”

一个风雪迷漫的日子，我由于走路太慌张，放晚学时，棉鞋全湿了，脚被冻得又红又肿。第二天上早自习，等到鞋干是怎么也来不及的。夜幕时分，妈妈找出来麻线、布料和棉花，要为我赶制新鞋。晚上，村里又停电了，妈妈安顿好我睡下后，就在昏暗的蜡烛旁做起了鞋，冬天的夜好冷啊，我睡在热乎乎的被窝里心里很不是滋味。一觉醒来，一觉醒来，看见妈妈还在蜡烛旁“哧、哧”地缝着……

父爱如山

爸爸在我的学习上是非常关心的，每当我向爸爸要买学习方面的东西，不管生活在有多困难，他都会给我买。我的爸爸是个高中毕业生，因此爸爸有能力辅导我，他经常在晚上辅导我的数学，不管自己有多疲惫，因此，我的数学很好。

一次，我做完了一张用来复习数学的卷了，那时候夜已经很深了，爸爸怕我因睡眠不足而误了明天的学习，就没有让我和他一起检查卷子。待我睡下后，爸爸就拖着疲惫不勘的身子批起了我的卷子，并且把我做错题的解题思路写在了一个本子上，我躺在床上心里很不是滋味，躺了一会儿，忍不住爬起来对爸爸说：“爸爸，算了吧，明天再批吧。”“这是关于你学习方面的事，怎么能说算就算呢？”爸爸说什么也不肯，最后，我又睡下了，爸爸又批了起来，我看到爸爸这么关心我的学习，心想；我一定要好好学习……

说起珍品，我想信家家都有，但是我家的“珍品”，可不是家家都有的。我希望所有像我这样的孩子，能够以优异的成绩来回报父母。

[以珍宝为题的初中一年级作文

My English friend name is Jim.

HE is ten years old, his family in london,he and his family member comes our china to play.He has a cosin,he name is qianyu hi is oniy four years old,but he has a lot of questions.look he is pointing at the chopsticks to ask that my this is anything.

I and jim has become the good friend .Several days later Jim said that he wanted, he said that i love China .I will forget that you zhou lei, will have free time london to look at me .Ok see you Jim.see you.

亲爱的父母：

你们好！

我时常会想梦想是什么？在思考中得出：梦想是天空中飞翔的雏鹰，是长城上放飞的洁白的鸽子，是一朵春风中绽放的花朵，是一盏照亮前进路的启明灯。大多数的人未来想当：军人，公务员，警察，演员，歌手，科学家航天员等。而我却告诉你们我想当，一名科学家，在科学的长河中探索，追求。

也许你们无法理解我为什么想当科学家，这是因为当我知道着名科学家：爱因斯坦，伽利略，爱迪生，牛顿，居里夫人等他们对科学界、世界的影响，让我萌发想当科学家梦想。

但我知道，想当一名科学家并不是是件容易的事就像美国科学家爱因斯坦说过：“科学家不但要一个聪明的大脑，还需要一个科学家应有的坚定信念，还要保持一颗赤子之心，要敢于说真话；在坎坷和磨难面前要乐观，要笑对待人生。

所以我要去面对困难，不屈服于困难。为了实现我的梦想，所以，我应当具有科学家那种不怕失败、大胆提出的精神。所以，我要从现在做起，大胆提出问题，并理解。具有勇于实践的态度。我还要多看书，还要多多学习科学家，这样我长大后也能想爱迪生一样，做一个伟大的科学家了。我要坚持并通过难关，追求自己的梦想。在困难中坚持，在失败中汲取教训，去努力实现自己的梦想。我相信：“只要功夫深，铁柱磨成针”当然，这一切也要父母你们的支持，希望你们多买些书籍给我，给我当科学家打好基础。

我还要告诉你们如果我有幸成为科学家，我一定为国家复兴而努力。

祝：父母长寿，工作顺利。

[我的梦中国梦初中一年级作文

Nowadays, the environment has been polluted seriously. Take my hometown for

example, when I was very small, I could swim in the river and catch fish, but

now, the water is very dirty and there are full of trash. The government has

made many action to return the green and it is everybodys duty to bring the

world some green. March 12th is the tree planting day and students are called to

plant trees. I take part in this activity all the time and the trees I grew last

year have grown much taller. I am so proud of making the world green. Without

it, we could not live for long.

Transportation has been greatly changed in the past few years. In ancient days, people used to travel by horse or carriage. The journey was often tiring and tedious. Then people had buses, trains and ships, which could shorten the time of the long-distance trip. Now we have not only more private cars, but also planes and high-speed rails. All of these modern transports could offer us a quick and pleasant travel. Thus, more and more people enjoy traveling very much these days. In conclusion, modern transportation has completely changed our life. Thanks to modern transportation, our world is becoming smaller and smaller.

星期一的早晨，妈妈送我去文化馆学英语。

我们到了二楼的一间教室，看见里面已经有很多小朋友了。妈妈叫我找个座位坐下来。这时老师进来了，老师请家长们先出去，因为我们要上课了。老师先作自我介绍，老师说：“我姓‘蔡’，不是青菜的‘菜’，而是蔡文姬的‘蔡’。”他还介绍了自己的英文名字‘miss蔡’。然后老师给我们发了书，老师说“学英语很简单，我可以教大家一个诀窍，先认清字母，再读准单词的音。老师叫我们打开a本书，开始叫我们读单词，再读句子。我学会早上好（goodmorning）、猴子（monkey）、熊猫（panda）和其他单词。下课之前，老师还布置了家庭作业。

虽然英语有点难，但是只要用心学，一定能学好。

My name is Lily， a Grade eight student。 I like my school life very much because it’s really enjoyable。 In school， I spent the time with my lovely classmates and teachers。 They all help me a lot with my study and life。

I have six courses each day from Monday to Friday and forty minutes each。 The courses I learn in school are Chinese， mathematics， English， geography， sports and so on。 I like Englishmost because it’s very interesting and my teacher is so lovely and kind。 In one word， my school life makes me happy and I learn a lot in school。

What#39;s the meaning of a friend to you?

Maybe you think that a friend is someone who will listen to you when you#39;re filled with sorrow.

Maybe you think that a friend is someone who will give you a gift on your birthday.

But to me, a friend is someone I can rely on.

When I was eight years old, I met, my best friend, Jennifer. Her personality was different from mine.

She#39;s very resolute and brave. When I was sad, she was the person who would sit next to me, comforting me.

When I was happy, she was the person with whom I could share my joy. As of now, we have been friends for eight years.

Although we#39;re not classmates anymore, I believe that we#39;ll still be good friends tomorrow and forever.

理想中最惬意的休闲不是逛街，不是KTV，不是呼朋唤友的海吃，而是找一个安静的地方，晒着暖暖的太阳，听着柔和的音乐，看些心怡的文字。曾经遇到一位朋友，他的桌上永远摆着一盘檀香。空闲时点上檀香，放上音乐，然后拿起一本书，在上面勾勾画画。和这种朋友的聊天也颇有意趣。就着一本书聊自己那可圈可点的想法。朋友间或是共鸣，或是赞叹，或是兴起争个孰是孰非，一见高下。

阅读在这个什么都讲究快速的时代，似乎有点格格不入。而我却抓住文字二字久久不愿放手。读读写写是我的休息方式。在这个社会里，或许可以用异类来形容，古老而不适时宜。可我就如午后在无风的屋檐下，晒着阳光的猫，静静地望着这些评判者，依旧故我。有人说我无法接受新事物，其实是退去浮华后的选择。我们需要的不是最好的，而是最适合自己的。就如鞋合不合适，只有脚知道。对于鞋美丽和舒适，你会选择什么呢？在这个挤挤攘攘的人群中，你用什么样的方式安稳灵魂，这又是仁者见仁智者见智的话题。或许在一些人眼里根本就成为不了话题。

孩子已经四年级，陪伴孩子阅读也有三年多了。这三年多的时间里，我给孩子读了大量的文章，有配音朗诵，有优美散文，有动人心弦的故事，也有孩子不喜欢的诗歌。我读徐志摩的《再别康桥》，还没读完，书给孩子扔出很远。至今那本徐志摩的诗集还压在书架最下面。不知何时能再次翻阅。跟孩子一起读过多少书籍估计自己也无法估算。这些时间里给孩子写了若干封信，孩子说最温暖的就是读妈妈给写给自己的信。我相信不久的将来或许和孩子一起聊的话题会越来越少，但我在寻找一种大家都能接受的沟通方式------那就是文字。为了我理想中这种沟通方式的畅通无阻，我在潜移默化的带着孩子。

升四年级后，孩子对字和词有了特别的敏感。时常会问这字是什么意思，这个词是什么意思。我知道这是孩子在对文字感兴趣后的自主吸收开始了。我知道我的孩子离喜欢文字越来越近了。这个学期孩子的作文突飞猛进，让我惊喜连连。这个时候我该怎么来带孩子，让他对文字有更美好的向往呢？我想有空带他去看看国画，其实到最后可以说所有的艺术都是有异曲同工的效果，都是给人以美的享受，让人紧绷的心情得以放松。

时常我会想象纷飞，若干年后，孩子长大成人，开始他独立自主的生活。或许因为工作离我们很远，思念与关怀用文字来表达或许比打电话来的优美。退休后的自己有着大把的时间来编辑自己想要的文字，让孩子在工作闲暇之余细细品味，这不也是一种乐趣与沟通吗。儿子回家，母子一起呆在书房，各自看着自己喜欢的书，看到精彩处，一声喝彩拍案而起，兴致勃勃中大家一起闲聊讨论，这不也是一种温馨？

有一个愿望用文字见证孩子的成长。从孩子进入一年级开始，我断断续续也写了一些文字。希望将来能编辑成册，当孩子有了下一代时作为礼物送个他。希望他能够使用好文字进行记录休息调整。同时也希望他能成为关注孩子陪伴孩子的好爸爸。或者说是希望把这文字的喜好作为传承。让我的孩子得益，在得益中不忘感染他的孩子。

文字当我们进入其中，才会感受到他的波澜壮阔惊涛骇浪。进入文字中，给自己的思绪画一幅唯美的图案，一幅幅悬挂在我们走过的悠然小径。不是绚丽，而是别有一番风景。

近期以来，班上忽然出现了一个专有名词：“嗨，看我的飞铲！”这到底是怎么回事呢？请听我一一说来。

开学不久，班上流行起了踢足球。一个叫陈羽桐的人带领着班上的一大群男生在操场上大踢足球，甚至还和初二的人踢了起来，眼看他们要被初二踢败的时候，神奇的事情发生了：陈羽桐大叫一声“看我的飞铲！”接着躺倒在地上，利用惯性原理向前滑去，一个带着球的初二男生被他铲了个“狗啃泥”，球也顺其自然地到了陈羽桐的脚下，接着，他又大喊一声“迎球怒射!”一个大脚把球踢进了门内，让我们获得了最终的胜利。

从那以后，班上的走廊里便出现了一连串的飞铲动作：男生互铲；几人群铲，背后暗铲……搞得走廊里鸡犬不宁，人声鼎沸，时不时地传来几声男生的大喝声与女生的尖叫声，最后竟还有人专门拿着摄像机拍他们的飞铲动作，然后再拿给班主任老师看。那时我们班男生真是风光无限，处处都能看到我们活跃的身影，而我这种不爱飞铲的人，只好用来被他们“无情”地铲倒在地，然后和他们一起哈哈大笑。因为老是被铲，所以我最后竟也学上了飞铲，开始了铲别人的乐趣校园生活，天天都笑容满面。

可惜好景不长，一天，班主任老师来到班上，向我们宣布了一个晴天霹雳：“今后，不准再有人做飞铲动作，否则，一律按违纪处理！”此话一出，众座皆惊，男生们异口同声地问：“为什么啊！”老师笑笑说：“因为它很危险，用英语来说就是Dangerous,对吧。”

唉，我们可怜的飞铲游戏就这样结束了，但我相信，新的游戏还将继续下去……

[初中一年级作文：飞铲风云

in this holiday l was very happy.why? because my famliy go to beijing.we saw tiananmen.the sky was blue ,tiananmen was red and yello.it is very nice.then i played with my mother and father in xiangshan.in the afteroon we went to yuanmingyuan.

look at yuangmingyuan, i was very sad.in the evering we ate some litto food.

beijing was very big.i love it very much.

When memory began for me, my grandfather was past sixty-a great tall man

with thick hair becoming gray. He had black eyes and a straight nose which ended

in a slightly flattened tip. Once he explained seriously to me that he got that

flattened tip as a small child when he fell down and stepped on his nose.

The little marks of laughter at the corners of his eyes were the prodnct of

a kindly and humorous nature. The years of work which had bent his shoulders had

never dulled his humour nor his love of a joke.

Everywhere he went, "Gramp" made friends easily. At the end of half an hour

you felt you had known him all your life. I soon learned that he hated to give

orders , but that when he had to, he tried to make his orders sound like

suggestions.

One July morning, as he was leaving to go to the cornfield, he said :

"Edwin, you can pick up the potatoes in the field today if you want to do that.

" Then he drove away with his horses.

The day passed, and I did not have any desire to pick up potatoes. Evening

came and the potatoes were still in the field. Gramp, dusty and tired, led the

horses to get their drink.

"How many bags of potatoes were there?" Gramp inquired. "I dont know.

"

"How many potatoes did you pick up?"

"I didnt pick any. " "Not any! Why not?"

"You said I could pick, them up if I wanted to. You didnt say I had to.

"

In the next few minutes I learned a lesson I would not forget: when Gramp

said I could if I wanted to, he meant that I should want to.

Gram hated cruelty and injustice. The injustices of history, even those of

a thousand years before, angered her as much as the injustices of her own

day.

She also had a deep love of beauty. When she was almost seventy-five, and

had gone to live with one of her daughters, she spent a delightful morning

washing dishes because, as she said, the beautiful patterns on the dishes gave

her pleasure. The bird, the flowers, the clouds-all that was beautiful around

her- pleased her. She was like the father of the French painter, Millet, who

used to gather grass and show it to his son , saying , "See how beautif ul this

is ! "

In a pioneer society it is the harder qualities of mind and character that

are of value. The softer virtues are considered unnecessary. Men and women

struggling daily to earn a living are unable, even for a moment, to forget the

business of preserving their lives. Only unusual people, like my grandparents,

manage to keep the softer qualities in a world of daily struggle.

Such were the two people with whom I spent the months from June to

September in the wonderful days of summer and youth.