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我永远忘不了一个傍晚的情形。你碰见一个人提着一篮子刚出窝的猫仔。那人说，如果没人买，就只能将这些小猫儿溺死。你哭得好伤心哟，就因为不准你带一只回家。
Letter to a Young Friend
Among all the people I know，there is one very special friend．She is young，beautiful and intelligent1)．Her name is Caroline，she lives in Hongkong and she is 7 years old．She goes to a school meant mainly for expatriate2) children．Her mother，Australia n by birth，has lived in Hongkong all her life．Her father is Swiss3) and owns a small trading company．Recently when I was at their home，Caroline picked up a copy of Asiaweek and，spotting my picture，asked me what I write about．I told her that it' s mainly about people．“Oh，why don't you write about me sometime？”she asked in her usual imperious4) manner．I told her that when she grows up and becomes famous，many people will write about her．“Okay，then，just write me a letter，like Uncle Charles from Sydney，”she commanded．I promised her that，and here it is：
Dear Caroline，
I am glad that you asked me to write to you．I have wanted to talk to you about a lot of things，but you are always so busy．There's school and piano or ballet5) lessons，then homework or a birthday party to go to．Once a week you have to write to Granny in Zurich and Uncle Charles in Sydney．You are almost as busy as big－business people in Hongkong．It's a pity that you can't keep a pet and have nowhere to ride a bike．That's why，I think，your mother gives you other things to keep you busy．Though you don't like ballet class，she wants you to grow up to be a lady．You see，most parents want for their children what they admired in their own childhood．When your mother was young it was considered a treat for girls to learn music and dance．But if you would like to study other things，too，never think you can't or shouldn't just because someone says they are only for boys．Women today are astronauts6)，engineers，doctors，pilots7) and politicians．Don't limit your choices to what girls did in the past．
You remember the day when your father and I took you to the tennis tournament8)？You were waiting with friends at school and there was another girl standing alone．I think she was from Sri Lanka and one of the few Asian students in your school．Why don't you talk to her sometimes and find out more about her beautiful country？I am sure you also have some Chinese schoolmates．Hongkong is their home，you know，and they will be here when your other friends have gone．Don't forget that Hongkong is really your home，too －－not Zurich or Sydney．Even if you leave，you will always remember it．So why not make some good friends who will still be here in case you decide to come back for a visit？
I know you don't get a chance to make too many local friends．The club where you swim has few Asian children，and I thought it sad that the schoolbooks of yours that I saw don't teach anything about China or anywhere else in Asia．Students in Australia today are learning more about Asia than your classmates are．By the time you grow up，Australia is likely to consider itself a member of the family of Asian countries．You may be proud of calling yourself an Asian．But by then people like you would be sons and daughters of many countries．And you would be important in helping everyone understand the world we all share．
I'll never forget the evening when you saw the man with a basket full of newborn kittens．He said that if nobody bought them，they would have to be drowned．You couldn't stop crying when you were not allowed to take one home．Sad to say，the world is filled with things a lot crueller9) than that．Too many prople，too little space．Too much fear and greed and too little love and mercy．We pretend that other people's problems are not ours and get angry when they affect us．Remember the day you got a rash from swimming in the dirty ocean？
Think about the poor fish who have to live in that water．The air we breathe all the time is getting dirtier，too．We'll all be proud if you become a great ballerina or pianist．But don't forget there are so many other things to do．My hope is that you grow up to be not only a lady but a woman who knows enough about the wider world to help improve it．Then，Caroline，there really would be hundreds of people interested in writing about you．
Uncle Hari
□by Hari Bed
