Many years ago not long after we were married, my wife, Margaret, and I went to her parents' place for a weekend visit in the fall. They happened to be pouring cement ( 浇筑水泥) for a new step and walkway outside their back door, so I 1 them. We completed the job and were quite 2 of the result.

Later that night after dinner, I 3  that my wedding (婚礼) ring was4 . The whole family searched the house with no luck. The next day I was not5 . After breakfast we 6  to search outside but again, no luck. At that point we came to the conclusion (结论) that the7  must have slipped off (滑落) my finger while I was doing the cement work and now it was 8 .

We returned home without one wedding ring. I felt9 at the thought and kept 10 myself why I hadn't taken it off before doing the cement work. This was a very hard 11 for me to learn. My wife's family said they would continue12 just in case as you never know — they might get 13 and find it.

The following spring, we got the miracle (奇迹) phone call. It seems that my ten-year-old brother-in-law, Mike, was outside playing in the yard and guess what he 14 ? My mother-in-law phoned to give me the good news.

Luckily, the 15  ended well for us and was quite a learning experience for me!