In the hot summer, there were not many pedestrians on the street, and it seemed a bit quiet. Only the cicadas singing happily were still full of energy.
During this quiet time when everyone prefers to take a nap at home, a burst of footsteps passed through the shade of trees and the alley, pushing open the yard covered by fences and dense foxtail grass.
"Grandma Kafula, we are here to find you." Four seven or eight-year-old children walked into the yard with messy footsteps.
This courtyard in a corner of the city once belonged to an abandoned kindergarten. Now there is an old man living there. Because she is very kind and can tell a lot of stories, the children nearby like to come here to play.
In the corner of the small yard is a small cabin, with white and gray-yellow stones put together to form the walls, and a wooden beam roof above.
Because the old man is old, he doesn't take care of the yard very much. Except for the dirt and a few stone slabs that can be seen on the paths he often walks, other places are covered with foxtail grass, and occasionally a few light yellow chrysanthemums and chrysanthemums pop out.
Dandelion, such a small flower, always has strong vitality.
After a few people came in, they went straight to the small house, but when they came to the house, they became quieter again, quietly opened the door, and looked around, looking for the familiar old woman.
Unfortunately, the familiar old man was not found in the front room.
Just as a few people were scratching their heads and hesitating, a slight meow attracted their attention.
Following the cat's meow, several people came to the back of the hut, and finally found the old lady sitting in a lounge chair under the eaves.
Because there is backlight here, and there is a large loquat tree in the afternoon, which provides a comfortable shade, and the breeze blows in, which is very comfortable.
"Grandma Kafla is asleep."
Several people looked at the old grandma who was taking a nap with her eyes closed in the recliner, and discovered that the cat that had just meowed was a tabby cat in the grandma's arms.
Even in summer, this tricolor tabby cat still refused to leave its familiar spot. After seeing a few children, it first raised its head alertly, then lay down leisurely and stretched.
"Meow~"
"It's Huahua, she was the one who called her just now." A little girl among the four wanted to hug the lazy tabby cat, but the cat avoided her.
Jumping off the old man's knees, the tabby cat moved its body, jumped onto the nearby loquat tree, and then climbed along the branches to the outside of the wall. Judging from its familiar appearance, it had done this not once before.
"Huahua ran out to play again. Grandma will be looking for her again later." Several children discussed.
"Why don't you capture Huahua and give it to Grandma Kafula and ask her to tell us the story?" a child suggested.
"It seems okay."
"But it's very hot. I ran over and didn't want to move anymore." A fat man next to him panted and wiped the sweat from his head.
"It's all because you don't go to exercise. The teachers and sisters at the kindergarten have told you this several times."
"No, it's not. In fact, I have also exercised, but it doesn't work. I just get fat easily. My mother said that this is a fat-prone body and cannot be changed."
"Okay, okay, I won't listen to your weird reasons." The girl on the side waved her hands indifferently.
Several people were chattering again. Although they were thinking of looking for the cat, looking at the dazzling sunshine outside, they really couldn't move.
Amidst the sound of the little sparrows, the old man beside him gradually woke up from his nap.
The silver-haired old man slowly sat up and looked at the children beside him with a kind smile. He didn't seem angry at being woken up.
"Grandma Kafla is awake."
Seeing the old man sitting up tremblingly, several children quickly went up to support him, and then said their purpose of coming a little ashamed.
"Sorry to bother grandma."
"It's nothing. You guys are here to listen to stories today, right?"
Looking at these familiar children, the old man shook his head to show that he didn't care, and then guessed their purpose.
"Yes." When the old man said it on his own initiative, the children nodded happily and gathered around the grandma.
"Okay, okay, you can tell stories, but you should sit on the stone slab under the eaves first." Surrounded by several noisy children, the old man skillfully asked them to quiet down.
"Hmm." The children sat obediently under the shady eaves, and the grandma slowly turned the recliner around.
Her kind and soothing voice slowly opened up.
"Where did we talk last time..."
"Speaking of the witch's blue flowers in the woods."
"There are also picture books. I remember the paintings in that book were very beautiful."
"Oh, yes, it's a picture book, um, a picture book." The grandma seemed to be remembering something.
"I remember it was placed in the bedside cabinet. Can you help me take it off? Be careful not to damage other things."
"No problem, let's take care of it." After saying that, the children ran into the house happily and ran out after a while holding the picture book with a yellowish cover.
The picture book in a thick paper shell has long been worn away, revealing the rough cardboard. The cover is also faded and dirty due to time. It can be seen that this book is at least more than ten years old, and may still be there.
longer.
"Yes, this is the book." The old lady stroked the familiar book cover. Although she could no longer see the pictures in the picture book clearly without wearing glasses, with years of familiarity, she could distinguish even the simple colors of each picture.
One page of content.
"We continue to tell the story of the witch in the forest and the colorful flowers."
"Today is also the last story among these seven stories, 'Forget Me Not's Sincere Apology'."
"A long time ago, there was a girl who liked reading very much. She often stayed in her house to read and rarely went out."
As she spoke, the grandma opened a page in the picture book to reveal a picture. Against the background of a large bookcase, a girl who looked like a doll was sitting on the ground, flipping through books. There were piles of books of varying heights beside her.
"But, occasionally, people come to see her, and they are her rare good friends."
Another page was turned, and there was a doll girl spinning in circles with several equally cute girls, but the doll girl was the youngest, and everyone looked at her with a smile.
"She likes books and likes these friends very much. She will also give books she likes to her friends because this is how she expresses her love."
In the quiet little house, the doll girl carefully selected her favorite books, then wrapped them with bows and wrote the names she wanted to give to her friends.
"Originally she thought this friendship would last forever, but one day she had a fight with her friend Xiao Tao."
In the large room, several friends stood on both sides, watching the two people in the middle arguing. Some wanted to come up to persuade them, while others were equally angry.
"After that, the quarrelsome Xiaotao left here forever."
In the picture book, a girl wearing a wizard's hat sits on a broom and flies into the sky.
"After that, the girl continued to read in the house, but this time no more friends came to see her."
"Although she was reading as usual, she would occasionally start to be in a daze and look at the stars outside the window at night."
In the quiet little house, the doll-like girl sat beside the orange lantern, looking at the five-pointed stars outside the window.
"She must have regretted it." Several children expressed their opinions.
"I would also regret it. It's so boring to be alone."
"Are you going to apologize?"
"But the friend who left never came back." Grandma Kafula continued.
"So, be careful when you quarrel. You may really lose the friend in front of you and never get it back." The old lady did not forget to tell the children the truth in fairy tales.
"Hey, isn't this a fairy tale? Let her find Miss Witch. Miss Witch is very powerful and can definitely do it. She has helped many people before, such as the brave young man who got lost in the forest to save his sister."
"It's not yet time for Miss Witch to appear, so let's continue listening." The old lady smiled kindly and continued to turn the page of the picture book.
"After she spent a long time alone, someone finally came to the house where she lived. It turned out that this person was Xiao Sha, a friend who used to play with Xiao Tao."
"Xiao Sha said that she hates her very much. Because of her, Xiao Tao can no longer be found."
"The girl was in a panic and didn't know how to answer. She couldn't even hold the book steady. The angry Xiaosha also pushed the girl into a corner step by step."
"At this time, the girl's neighbor finally heard it, and she came over and stopped the two of them."
"But Xiaosha was still angry, so she told the girl that she would make her regret it."
"After that, Xiao Sha also disappeared. It was not until a few days later that Xiao Sha and Xiao Tao's mutual friend, Xiao Ying, came over to tell the girl about this."
"'Why can't you still read in the room peacefully like this?' Xiaoying asked the girl."
"Well, I feel like the girl is very innocent."
"Why doesn't she explain?"
"But I think Xiaotao and Xiaosha are also very pitiful."
"The girl then told the truth. It turned out that she and Xiao Tao had a fight that day because she saw Xiao Tao doing a very dangerous experiment, so she told the adults about it."
"Xiao Tao's experimental props were confiscated, and she was so sad that she left here."
"The girl read a lot of books, and the knowledge and reason in the books told her that Xiao Tao was wrong and asked her to apologize for the right thing. She felt that this was wrong."
"So, what would you do if you were girls?" Grandma Kafula continued to ask.
The boy leaned against the wall behind him and replied easily: "I would have apologized. What is in the book is nothing. Friends are the most important thing. Didn't grandma say it before? If you lose friendship, it will be gone."
"However, the girl did indeed do the right thing. It would be too unfair to apologize like this." Another child said hesitantly.
"That's right, it's obviously not my fault, why should I apologize? Well, forget it if you don't have a friend, just make another one."
"What do you think of Grandma Kafla? I think the answers on both sides are not very good."
"That's it, so the sad girl and Xiaoying found the witch lady in the forest." The old woman continued to turn to the next page of the picture book.
In the picture book, the two people walked slowly on the path with their backs to each other, and at the end of the path there was a hut half-covered by trees.
"In this way, Miss Witch received the two of them and listened to their stories."
In the painting, a silver-haired witch lady sits in the middle of a round table, taking out colorful candies and placing them on the table to entertain the two people who arrived.
"So that's it. Miss Witch nodded after listening and quickly came up with a solution."
"How will it be solved? I'm curious." The children chirped.
"Isn't this the kind of answer where you are right and me is right again? I'm tired of hearing it."
Grandma smiled and continued: "Miss Witch pointed out that the root of the problem between the two is actually because what the girl thinks is 'right' is not really right."
"Have you ever had a time like this? Adults always say the right words to encourage you."
"Study hard, exercise, and be positive."
"Yes, yes, what Grandma Kafula said is so thoughtful. That's it. I'm so annoyed by them."
"Although it's for our own good, I'm always unhappy."
"I don't want to hear it anymore."
"The principles and objective laws in the book are always so clear that people think it is the truth, but it is not like this."
"Putting yourself in the environment really determines what is correct and what is wrong. But this way of distinguishing is more tiring, so people generally don't use it."
"But if it is an important or critical matter, you must think like this."
"Did the doll girl ask Xiao Tao why she had to do that? Can she solve the problem with her? Is there any way we can work together? Is Xiao Tao really doing bad things?"
"It's a pity that the girl didn't do that, because the knowledge in the book is so clear and clear. It objectively tells the doll girl that such experiments are dangerous and must be stopped."
"You should study hard, because it will determine your future achievements and whether you can get more wealth and recognition."
"However, if one day you faint while studying and find yourself extremely weak when you wake up, should you consider seeing a doctor at this time and then talk to an adult about your discomfort and fear?"
"Mom and Dad ask you to give up your most beloved toy to others. Do you have to be obedient or do you follow your heart and express your reluctance to give it up? Hold it tightly and endure the accusations from adults and the jokes from others."
"When you see someone asking for help in the water, but you don't know how to swim, at this time you are forced to jump out due to morality and education, or you should quickly think of other ways to rescue, even if you get scolded for it."
"Following the knowledge in the book is simple, convenient, lazy, blame-free, and morally protected."
"When you face the real reality and complex environment, do you have the courage to do the right thing?"
"After Miss Witch finished explaining, she picked the last flower from the flowerpot behind the house. It was a blue forget-me-not."
"Thus, the last wish of the colorful flowers was fulfilled, and Xiao Tao and Xiao Sha, who had left before, returned to the doll girl again."
"This time, she truly apologized to the two of them, and several people also forgave the girl."
"Finally, they held hands and ran in circles on the grass again, and this time Xiaotao told the doll girl that they would take the girl to many places and not let her sit alone in the house reading."
"The girl smiled and agreed, and then replied, 'I must be allowed to go home occasionally, because it is my favorite room there with my favorite books in it, and I also hope that my favorite friends can read books together.
.'"
"This completes the story of the witch in the forest and the colorful flowers. Which one do you like best?"
Grandma Kafula slowly closed the picture book in her hand. Even though she had told this story countless times, she was still not tired of it. Just like that rainy night, the girl who reached out to her was so nostalgic.