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Veronica was an only child. Even as a child, she decided that she was going
to be a doctor. All her dolls became her patients. All her dollhouses became
hospitals for her patients. She spent her early childhood treating her patients
for all kinds of diseases and injuries. She saved all of them and billed none of
them.
Veronica got straight A’s in high school and college, because she knew that
good grades would help her get into a good medical school. She graduated from
medical school near the top of her class. She became a pediatrician. She got
married and had two kids, one boy and one girl. Veronica’s husband David was an
architect and a great cook. Her children did their homework without being told.
They got straight A’s in school. They ate all their vegetables without
complaining. They were perfect little children, except for one thing: They
argued with each other constantly.
Veronica got home at 4:30 p.m. today. David gave her a big kiss and a hug.
Then her kids gave her a kiss and a hug. She went upstairs and changed into
shorts and a T-shirt. When she returned, the kids were waiting for her in the
living room to talk about their day in school.
Marvin, 10, said that today his biology teacher helped them cut up dead
frogs. They smelled bad, but he enjoyed seeing their little body parts, like
their lungs and heart. “I like biology,” Marvin said. “I want to be a biologist,
an animal doctor, and an inventor when I grow up. I’m going to invent a pill so
that animals all learn to live together without eating each other all the
time.”
“You’re crazy!” exclaimed Rebecca. “What are the animals going to eat if
they don’t eat each other?”
“You don’t know anything. You’re a girl and you’re only nine,” taunted
Marvin.
“Marvin, be polite to your sister,” Veronica admonished.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I apologize, dear little sister.”
“That didn’t sound very sincere, mommy,” Rebecca complained.
“Okay, here’s how I’ll keep the animals from eating each other. I already
thought of that, of course. The solution is a pill that will make all animals
like to eat grass, like the cows and sheep do. That way no more animals will eat
each other, and kids won’t have to mow the lawn any more. So, that will kill two
birds with one stone.”
“Well, that’s very clever,” Veronica told Marvin.
“Now, tell us about your day, Rebecca,” Veronica said.
“Well, as you know, mommy, I’m going to be a real doctor like you, not a
mad scientist like somebody I know,” Rebecca started, and then stuck her tongue
out at her brother. |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:21:17