A long time before I was born， my grandma and grandpa moved into the house on Beechwood Avenue. They had a young family of four little girls. The little girls slept in the attic① in a big feather bed. It was cold there on winter nights. Grandma put hot bricks under the covers at the foot of the bed to keep the little girls warm.
During the Great Depression， work was hard to find， so Grandpa did whatever jobs he could. He dug ditches during the week， and on weekends he and Grandma dug a garden to grow some of their own food.
The house on Beechwood Avenue had a big front yard with shade trees and fruit trees. In the middle of the yard was a water pump② where the four little girls pumped water for cooking， cleaning and watering the garden. On one side of the yard， Grandma and Grandpa planted tomatoes， beans， squash， cucumbers， peppers and strawberries to feed their growing family. They planted roses， geraniums， lilacs and irises on the other side of the yard， around the statue of the Blessed Mother.
Everybody worked to keep the garden growing. All summer long， the family ate food from the garden and enjoyed the beautiful flowers. Grandma put up strawberry jam， tomatoes， beans， peppers， pears and peaches in canning③ jars. They were good to eat through the long winter.
The family grew up， and before too many years had passed， the grandchildren came to visit. Grandma and Grandpa still planted their garden every spring. Everyone still enjoyed the good food from the garden and always took some home.
Grandchildren grow up， and grandparents grow older. It became harder for Grandma and Grandpa to keep up the garden， so they made it a little smaller. There was still plenty to eat from the garden and lovely flowers to enjoy.
Then one summer when Grandpa was eighty-nine years old， all he could do was watch from his lawn chair as the vegetables grew and the roses bloomed. Summer slowly faded， and Grandpa died before it was time to bring in the harvest.
It was a lonely winter for Grandma. She sat near the window， looking out at the yard and wondering if she could plant a garden in the spring. It would be hard to care for it by herself. When spring came， she planted only a little garden.
One sunny day in the early summer， Grandma heard a commotion in the front yard and looked out the window to see a frightening sight. A gigantic④ swarm of bees filled the air between two tall trees. There was thousands of bees in the air， so many that the swarm reached the tree-tops！ The buzzing sound was tremendous.
Grandma watched as the bees made their way into a hole up in one of the trees. Before long， every one of those bees had disappeared into its new home.
Grandma wondered what in the world she could do. Should she hire someone to get rid of the bees？ That would cost more than she could afford. She decided to wait and think it over.
During the next few days， the bees were busy minding their own business. Grandma could always see a few bees buzzing in and out around the opening high in the tree. Before long， she decided the bees weren’t bothering anyone， so she went about her business and didn’t give them another thought.
That summer， Grandma’s little garden grew and grew. The neighbors would stop to admire the huge crop of vegetables and puzzle over their own gardens weren’t doing well. No matter， because Grandma had enough to give some away. Of course， everyone who came to visit was treated to a meal of good things from the garden.
One day， Grandma’s brother Frank visited from Arizona. As Grandma made Frank a delicious lunch of squash pancakes and homemade applesauce⑤， she told him the story about the swarm of bees.
Frank said， “In Arizona， the farmers often hired beekeepers to set up beehives near their fields. The bees pollinated⑥the crops and helped them to grow.”
That was when Grandma realized that her bees had helped with her garden all summer.
“So that’s why my little garden had such a big crop！” she exclaimed.
From that time on， Grandma always believed that since Grandpa couldn’t be there to help her that summer， he had sent the bees to take his place and make Grandma’s little garden grow and grow.
① atticn. 顶楼，阁楼；顶楼房间
② pumpn. 泵，唧筒
③ canningn. 罐头制造
④ giganticadj. 巨人的；巨人似的
⑤ applesaucen. 苹果酱
⑥ pollinatev. 【植】给……授花粉
爷爷的爱
早在我出生以前，奶奶和爷爷搬到碧奇乌大道住。他们膝下养有四个小女儿。女孩们睡在阁楼的一张大羽毛床上。那里冬夜酷寒。奶奶得在床脚下垫热砖给女儿们取暖。
大萧条时期，工作很难找，爷爷什么苦工都做。在周日他挖沟渠，周末和奶奶在花园里挖挖锄锄，种点自己的粮食。
碧奇乌大道的房子有个大前院，院子里种着浓荫遮蔽的大树和果树。院中央的是个水泵，小女孩们就在这里泵水用来做饭、打扫卫生、灌溉花园。奶奶和爷爷在院子的一边种上番茄、豆子、南瓜、黄瓜、辣椒和草莓，供应这个大家庭的吃用。在另一边，他们围着圣母的雕像种了玫瑰、天竺葵、丁香和蝴蝶花。
人人都辛勤地耕种花园，使它日渐丰实。整个夏天，我们一家人吃着花园种出的食物，欣赏着花园里的美丽花朵。奶奶还把做好的草莓酱、番茄、豆子、辣椒、梨子和桃子装进罐子里，使它们的美味能保持一整个漫长的冬天。
多年过去，孩子们长大了，孙子孙女们也来到了世上。奶奶和爷爷仍然每年春天都耕种花园。人人都能分享花园种出的好东西，也总能带上一些回家里。
孙子孙女们长大了，爷爷、奶奶年迈古稀。维护花园花去他们更多的精力，所以他们缩小了些花园的面积。但里面种出来的食物还足够吃，花朵也还招人喜爱。
等到爷爷八十九岁的那个夏天，他只能坐在草地的椅子上，看蔬菜长大，玫瑰开花。夏日渐渐消逝，爷爷在丰收前就去世了。
对奶奶来说，这是个寂寞的冬天。她坐在窗边，望着外边的院子，考虑着来年春天还要不要耕种花园。只靠她自己来打理太难了些。当春天来到时，她只稍微种了一点儿。
初夏的一天，阳光灿烂，奶奶听到前院传来一阵骚动声，她看出窗外，看到可怕的一幕。两棵大树上满满缀着大团大团的蜜蜂。空中还飞舞着成千上万只，多不胜数的蜂群一直排到树梢上！嗡嗡声不绝于耳。
奶奶看见这些蜜蜂先后钻进一棵树上高高的树洞中。很快，所有的蜜蜂都搬进新家，消失了。
奶奶不禁发愁起来。她是否该请人清走这些蜜蜂呢？但是她根本支付不起费用。于是她决定等一等，再想想办法。
随后几天，蜜蜂忙碌个不停。奶奶总能看到有一些蜂儿从高高的树洞里嗡嗡地飞进飞出。不久，她看出蜜蜂并无妨碍，于是自顾自地干活，不再理会它们。
那年夏天，奶奶的小花园硕果累累。邻居们都驻足羡慕里面生长丰盛的蔬菜，纳罕怎么自己花园的长势就没有这么喜人。没关系，因为奶奶有好多可以送人。登门来访的人当然都有花园里的美味来招待。
一天， 奶奶的弟弟法兰克从亚利桑那州前来拜访。奶奶给他做了一顿香喷喷的午饭，有南瓜饼，有自制的苹果酱，她还把蜜蜂的故事告诉了法兰克。
法兰克说：“在亚利桑那，农夫们常常雇请养蜂人在农田附近搭蜂箱。蜜蜂授粉有助于庄稼成长。”
奶奶才意识到，原来是这些蜜蜂在夏季助成了花园的丰收。
“所以我的小花园才有了大丰收！”她大声地说道。
从那时开始，奶奶便相信是因为爷爷那年夏天没能亲自帮她，才派了蜜蜂到这里，让奶奶的小花园欣欣向荣。
