Children's classic bedtime fairy tale: the little house on Castro street

As long as I can remember, the small house on Castro Street has been my home. Here are all familiar things: mom, dad, my brother Niels, my sister Christine and my youngest sister dagmar.

Every Saturday night, my mother sat at the cleaned table as usual, frowning and sorting out the money in my father's small salary bag.

The money was divided into several parts.

"paid to the landlord." Mother muttered, piling up large silver coins.

"Buy food." Another pile of silver coins.

"Catherine's shoes need to be nailed to the soles." Mother took out another small silver coin.

"The teacher said that I must buy a book this week." Some of our children suggested.

Mother took out a nickel or dime and put it aside with a serious face.

We watched this pile of money get smaller and smaller. Finally, dad always said, "Is that all?" Mom nodded and everyone leaned back in their chairs to relax. Mom looked up, smiled and said softly, "Well, don't go to the bank to withdraw money."

Mom has money in the bank, which is really something. We are all proud of it. Give people a warm and safe feeling. None of the people we know has a deposit in the bank of this city.

I can't forget the scene where the Jansons who lived at the end of the street were kicked out of their house because they couldn't pay the rent. We saw some unknown adults moving furniture, and poor Mrs. Jenson was in tears. I was so scared that I couldn't breathe, which was the result of people not being able to "pay the landlord" that pile of money. Will all this fall on us?

I held Christine's hand tightly. "We have money in the bank." She comforted me calmly, and I immediately felt that I could breathe again ...

"Mom's Bank Account" tells many warm and touching stories, which are isomorphic to the life panorama of a family who immigrated from Norway to the United States at the beginning of last century.

Maintaining one's family, taking care of one's family, and integrating into the life in a foreign land are all frustrating, but as long as mom is around, the family is full of courage to overcome difficulties and tide over difficulties.

When dad needs an operation, only mom knows how to deal with the greedy doctor's wife; When the tenant runs away in arrears, only the mother can find a way to compensate; When my lonely aunt is in trouble, only my mother knows how to help her through her old age. ...

The mother protected her child's innocent childhood with secret bank accounts and beautiful lies.

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Niels wants to go to high school after graduating from junior high school. Mom said, "OK." Dad nodded in agreement.

"It costs some money to go to high school." Niels said.

Everyone eagerly pulled up their chairs and gathered at the table. I took down the brightly colored box and put it carefully in front of my mother. This box was sent to us by Sigri Menstruation in Norway on Christmas Day.

This is our "small bank" Unlike big banks in the city, they use the money in "small banks" when they are in urgent need. For example, Christine needs to see a doctor when she breaks her arm, dagmar needs a bad cold, and Dad needs medicine.

Niels listed all kinds of expenses for attending high school: bus fare, clothes, books and so on. Mother looked at the clearly written figures for a long time, and then poured out the money in the small bank. But even this would not be enough

Mother closed her lips and whispered, "Don't use big bank money."

We all agree.

Niels said, "I went to work in Delun's grocery store after school."

Mother smiled gratefully at him. She slowly wrote down a number and then added and subtracted it. Dad works very hard. He works very fast. "That's not enough," he said, and then took his pipe out of his mouth and studied it for a long time. "I quit smoking."

Mom wrote down another number.

"I go to Sandeman's house to look after the children every Friday night." Seeing the eyes of my sisters, I added, "Christine can help me."

"Very good." Mom said.

We are all very happy, and once again we avoided using our mother's bank deposit. Small banks can meet our needs, and we feel very practical ...

This was twenty years ago. Last year, I gave my mother a check and said to her, "This is for you. Put it in your bank account. "

When my mother looked up at me, there was a smile on her lips.

"Where is the deposit," she said, "I've never been in a bank in my life."

I don't know what to say at this moment.

Mom added: "It's not good to worry children and make them feel insecure."

-Comments-

Mom's bank account is a warm and interesting book. After reading it, you will smile from time to time. Writer Huang Beijia wrote a preface for the Chinese version of this book. In the preface, she wrote:

"(This is) the success story of an ordinary American family. The process of reading is brisk and wonderful. Conflict, collision, opposition, support and warmth between relatives constitute a deep vocabulary pool. You can see the power of life under the clear and calm pool. The reason why it is accepted and liked by readers is not because of the wonderful story itself, but because of the human light shining on the characters in the book. This is the power of morality, the power of words. "

-The writer's story tree-

Autobiographical family stories

Mom's bank account is the work of American writer Catherine Forbes.

Forbes was originally from Norway, and her grandmother immigrated from Norway to California in the late19th century. Both her parents were born in America.

Forbes was originally a screenwriter for a radio station, and he usually wrote some short stories. 1942, she wrote two autobiographical family stories, Mom's Bank Account and Mom's Tenant, which were published in Reader's Digest and warmly welcomed by readers. This gave her great motivation. With her family experience as the background, she wrote more than a dozen similar short stories in one breath. These warm and touching stories were collected in a book-Mom's bank account on 1943.

"Mom's Bank Account" is listed as "recommended reading for American primary and secondary schools", which has created a continuous printing record for more than 60 years and has been put on the stage and screen many times.