The children looked forward to picking. We could usually find just
"There's nothing around here to pick!" five-year-old Julie complained, poking a stick into the dying fire one late summer evening.
The season had been too dry; what few blackberries were left on the bushes were hard as marbles.
"Yeah. I looked all over," added four-year-old Brian. "Wish there was something."
That night, after the kids were zipped into their sleeping sacks and I was sure they weren't awake, I handed Bob a bag of large marshmallows and I grabbed a bag of the miniatures.
"Get the lantern and follow me," I said. "We're going to make a memory."
"What?" He looked puzzled.
I told him
The next morning over pancakes, I said, "Kids, I think you're going to have something to pick today."
"Really!" Julie's eyes shone. "What?"
"What?" echoed Brian.
"Marshmallows," I said, as though I'd said it every summer. "Last night Daddy and I walked down toward the lake and it looks as though they're just
Julie looked skeptical, and Brian giggled. "You're silly, Mom! Marshmallows come in bags from the store."
I shrugged. "So do blackberries, but you've picked those, haven't you? Somebody just puts them in bags."
"Daddy, is that true?" He demanded.
Bob was very busy turning pancakes. "Guess you'll just have to go find out for yourself," he answered. "Okay!"
They were off in a flurry, little
"You nut," Bob said to me, laughing. "It won't work."
"Be a believer," I answered.
Minutes later our two excited children rushed into the clearing.
"Look! I got some that were just babies!" Julie held up a miniature.
"I picked the big ones!" said Brian. "Boy, I want to cook one! Light the fire, Daddy, quick!"
"All right, all right, settle down." Bob winked at me. "They won't spoil." He lit some small sticks while the kids ran for their hot dog forks.
"Mine will be better because they're so little," predicted Julie. Brian shrugged, mashing two large ones on his fork.
We waited for the culinary verdict.
"Wow! Brian's eyes rounded with surprise. "These are sure better than those old ones in the bags!" He reached for another. "These are so good!"
"Of course," I said. "These are really fresh!"
Julie looked puzzled. "How come all those marshmallow bushes don't have the same kinds of leaves?"
"Just different kinds, that's all," I replied quickly. "Like flowers."
"Oh." She licked her fingers, seemingly satisfied with my answer. Then, studying the next marshmallow before she popped it into her mouth, she looked up with the sweetest smile and said softly, "We're so lucky that they bloomed today!"
香甜的野生浆果散布在路边，点缀成一片露营的好地方。每到夏天，丈夫鲍博和我就会打发孩子们带上他们的金属小篮出去采浆果，然后第二天我们就会享受一下美味的浆果。
孩子们也都期待着出去采浆果。很多时候我们会什么都没有采到，从初夏的蓝莓到悬钩子到八月的黑莓。
5岁的朱莉抱怨说：“这里什么都没有啊。”
这个季节太干燥了，只有很少很少的黑莓剩下了，而且剩下的那些是那么的坚硬。“是啊，我看了所有的地方，希望会有一些。
那天晚上，当孩子们钻到他们的睡袋以后，我确信他们已经睡着了，我递给鲍博一袋大浆果然后拿了一袋小的。
“拿上灯笼，跟我走，”我说“我们要去创造记忆了。”
“什么？”他看着我迷惑地问。
我告诉他孩子们的对话，他笑了，说：“走！”
第二天早饭时时，我说：”孩子们，我想今天你们一定有可以采的浆果了。”
“真的吗？”朱莉的眼睛里闪耀着光芒，“什么？”
“什么？”布赖恩回应着。
“浆果啊”，像每年夏天一样，我说，“昨天晚上爸爸和我顺着小溪散步，好象那里就是有很多东西啊。我们能在这里太好了，因为它们每年只出现一天。”
朱莉看上去有点怀疑，布赖恩却咯咯地笑了“你真傻，妈妈。浆果是从商店买来的。”
我耸了耸肩“黑莓也是，但是你已经摘了，是吗？有人把它们装进了袋子里。”
“爸爸，是真的吗？”他好象还不甘心。
鲍博正在忙着翻煎饼，回答到“去看看能不能采到吧，好吗。”
他们提着小篮在阳光明媚的早晨快速跑去。
“你这个笨蛋”，鲍博笑着对我说：“那没用的。”
“要相信别人”
一会工夫，两个兴奋的孩子跑了回来。
“看！我采到一些小婴儿浆果！”朱莉提着那些小浆果跑了回来。
“我摘到大的，”布赖恩也快活地说“爸爸，快点生火，我想做一些，快啊！”
“好的，好的”，鲍博朝我眨了眨眼睛，“他们没有失望”
“我的肯定更好因为它们很小”朱莉说。
“哇！”布赖恩的眼睛里闪烁着惊奇“这些肯定比那些袋子里的好的多。”
“当然了”我说“他们真的很新鲜！”
朱莉看上去有点迷惑“为什么他们没有相同的叶子呢？”
“种类不同的，孩子”我赶快回答“像花一样”
“哦”她咬着舌头，看上去对我的回答很满意。开始研究下一个浆果，然后填到嘴里。她微微抬起头，轻轻地笑着说“我们太幸运了，它们今天全开了！”
相关单词：delightful
delightful解释：adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
delightful例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
相关单词：labor
labor解释：n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
labor例句：
We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。
相关单词：grill
grill解释：n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问
grill例句：
Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。
相关单词：poking
poking解释：n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢
poking例句：
He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。
相关单词：skeptical
skeptical解释：adj.怀疑的，多疑的
skeptical例句：
Others here are more skeptical
Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。
相关单词：giggled
giggled解释：v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
giggled例句：
The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：shrugged
shrugged解释：vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
shrugged例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：winked
winked解释：v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮
winked例句：
He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
相关单词：mashing
mashing解释：捣碎
mashing例句：
Long ago, they served as a useful third set of mashing molars. 许多年前，它们可是有用的第三套磨牙系统。
During continuous mashing, filter 2 is filled when filter 1 is full. 在连续糖化过程中，当压滤机1填满后即填充压滤机2。
