The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness， she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that. But， she still wanted her son‘s dreams to come true. She took her son’s hand and asked，”Billy， did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up？ Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life？““Mommy， I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.”
Mom smiled back and said，“Let‘s see if we can make your wish come true.”
Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix， Arizona， where she met Fireman Bob， who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possibleto give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said，“Look， we can do better than that. If you‘ll have your son ready at seven o’clock Wednesday morning， we‘ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station， eat with us， go out on all the fire calls， the whole nine yards！ And if you’ll give us his sizes， we‘ll get a real fire uniform for him， with a real fire hat- not a toy one， but one with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it， a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.
They’re all manufactured right here in Phoenix， so we can get them fast.”
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy， dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines， the paramedic‘s van， and even the fire chief’s car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come true， with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him， so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse， who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone， began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman， so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.
The chief replied，“We can do better than that. We‘ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor？ When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing， will you announce over the PAsystem that there is not a fire？ It’s just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room？”
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital， extended its ladder up to Billy‘s third floor open window and 5 firefighters climbed up the ladder into Billy’s room. With his mother‘s permission， they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath， Billy looked up at the fire chief and said，“Chief， am I really a fireman now？”“Yes， Billy， you are a fireman now.”the chief said.
With those words， Billy smiled and closed his eyes one last time. He passed away later that evening.
托起孩子的梦想，生命就会微笑。
参考翻译（佚名）
年仅26岁的母亲凝视着即将被白血病夺去生命的儿子。尽管她的心中充满了悲伤，但她仍未失去坚强的信念。像天下所有的父母一样，她希望儿子能长大并且实现所有的梦想。现在，白血病让这一切都成为不可能。然而，她还是希望儿子的梦想能实现。她握住儿子的手问道：“比利，你想过长大以后做什么吗？你梦想或者期望过以后过怎样的生活吗？”
“妈妈，我一直希望长大以后能当一名消防员。”妈妈微笑着说：“看看我们能不能让你的梦想成真。”
之后她就去了亚利桑那州凤凰城的当地消防署，在那里见到了消防员波比。波比的热心人人皆知。她给波比讲了儿子最后的心愿，请求他让六岁的儿子坐在消防车上绕消防署一周。波比说：“我们可以做得更多。如果你能让你儿子在周三早上七点准备就绪，我们可以让他当一整天光荣的消防队员。他可以来消防队和我们一起进餐，接到警报后和我们一起外出执行任务，从头至尾！另外如果你告诉我们他衣服的尺寸，我们会为他定做一套真正的消防制服，包括一顶真正的消防员的帽子--可不是玩具，而是有凤凰城消防署徽章的帽子，一件我们穿的那种黄色雨衣，还有一双胶靴。这些东西都在凤凰城制造，因此我们能很快拿到。”
三天后波比去接小比利，帮他穿上消防制服，护送他从医院的病床到等待中的云梯消防车。比利坐在消防车的后座，帮着掌控方向盘，开回消防队。他快乐极了，如同置身天堂。那天凤凰城共有三个火警电话，比利也执行了三次任务。他乘上了不同的消防车，包括医疗救护车，甚至消防队长的车。他还上了当地的电视新闻。
在源源不断的爱和关怀下，比利的梦想实现了。深受感动的比利存活时间比医生预言的延长了整整三个月。有一天晚上他所有的生命体征都开始急剧地减弱。领班的护士为了不让可怜的小比利独自一人离去，开始打电话通知比利的家人到医院。然后她又想起比利当消防员的那天，于是打电话给消防队长，问他是否可以派一名交完班的穿制服的消防员到医院来陪伴比利。
队长回答说：“我们可以做得更多。我们五分钟后就能赶到那里。你能帮我一个忙吗？当你听到警笛鸣叫，看到警灯闪烁的时候，你能在广播系统里宣布没有发生火灾吗？这只是消防署的全体工作人员最后一次来看望我们最优秀的消防队员之一。还有，你能把他房间的窗户打开吗？”
大约过了五分钟，一辆云梯消防车到达了医院，云梯伸展到比利所在的三楼房间敞开的窗户前，五名消防队员沿着云梯爬进比利的房间。在妈妈的同意下，消防队员们抱着、搂着比利，告诉比利他们是多么爱他。在呼吸快要停止的时候，比利望着消防队长，说：“队长，我现在是一个真正的消防队员了吗？”“是的，比利，现在你是一名真正的消防队员。”队长回答说。
听到这些话，比利微微地笑了，他合上了双眼。那天晚上他平静地走了。
My Bracelet 我的手镯
Anonymous
When I stop to think about which possession of mine means the most to me， I find myself looking at my left wrist. Adorning my wrist is a simple solid jade bracelet. Its color is uneven， ranging from a pale green， almost-white， to a sea green， and it has a brown spot， a flaw， in the stone. There are tiny scratches on the bracelet， hardly noticeable， and a crack on one side- where the bracelet may eventually break completely. But in spite of its flaws， the bracelet could not be any more perfect to me than it is because of the sentimental value it holds.
I will always remember the first time I saw a jade bracelet of this kind， when I was eight. It was a museum collection of Chinese jewelry. I found it amazing that the bracelet could be a perfectly polished ring carved from one single piece of jade， and I thought it must be very valuable.
I went home and told my mother， who explained to me that suchbracelets are quite common among Chinese women， and varied greatly in expense and quality. Some women would get jade bracelets when they were very young and wear them until they died. Since jade is a soft stone， it can break very easily when treated roughly. My mother told me that if a bracelet did break， the woman would wrap up the fragments in a handkerchief and save the pieces for the rest of her life， for even the pieces would bring good luck. This gave me an image of the Chinese woman， and having my bracelet will always remind me of my culture and the individual that I am.
