It was Christmas Eve. When everyone went to bed, Bunny couldn't fall asleep. He still couldn't think of what he wanted as a special Christmas present. He wondered how Santa — Father Christmas would know what to bring him if he didn't know himself.

    As he was sitting up in bed, Bunny heard a big noise on the roof and a sound downstairs. It was Santa Claus, he realized. Bunny jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to the stairs. He hoped to take a look at the old m an before Santa left for his next stop.

    By the time Bunny was at the bottom of the stairs, everything was silent again. Lots of presents were put under the Christmas tree, but Santa was gone. A little disappointed(失望的), Bunny turned to climb back upstairs when he heard a cry.

    “Hello,” said Bunny. “Is somebody there?”

    He was answered by another cry. Bunny looked around the big pile of presents to see what was making the noise. Right under the tree was a funny looking brown animal with big feet and sad eyes. It also had antlers(鹿角) on its head. Bunny almost mistook it for a dog.

  “Are you a reindeer（驯鹿）?” asked Bunny.

  “Yes,” replied the brown animal with antlers. “My name is Ralph.”

  “And you were pulling Santa's sled(雪橇)?”

   “I was until I got air-sick,” replied Ralph. “Santa had to leave me here and go on with the other seven reindeer.”

   “Isn't it a bit unusual for a reindeer to get air-sick? I mean, isn't flying what reindeer are famous for?”

   “Not me, I'm afraid. It makes me frightened. I always feel sick when it comes to flying,” replied Ralph. “But everyone wanted me to pull Santa's sled, so when it was my turn I gave it a try. I'm afraid I just wasn't cut out for the job. Now I'm trapped here and I don't know how to get back to the North Pole .”

“Well, if you like, you can stay with us as a friend,” said Bunny. As he made the offer, Bunny suddenly realized the special present he wanted from Santa was a new friend!

    It's seven o'clock in the morning in Chennai, India Lavin always has her morning bath before school. But she doesn't have a bath at home. She has a bath in a small river outside with her best friend, a baby elephant.

    Lavin lives at Arignar Anna Zoo with her parents, brothers and sisters. Her father works at the zoo and he is a special keeper for the baby elephants. Lavin is only six years old, but she can control(控制)the elephants and she has a very special friendship with them.

    At eight o'clock in the morning, Lavin goes to school, but she doesn't go on the school bus. She rides an elephant to school. After school, Lavin plays football with her elephants.

    Now it is the evening, and the baby elephants are tired Lavin sits next to them and sings to them. Sometimes, they all sleep together-friends together in the day and friends together at night.

    Books are our best friends. They are very quiet, but we can always find both fun and knowledge once we open them.  Here is a good book you can read during the holiday.

    The Little Prince(小王子)

    French Writer: Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    Both adults and children love this classic book. It is about the adventure of a young prince. It shows the importance of innocence(纯真), imagination and love.

    The little prince comes from planet B612. In his eyes, adults are all very strange. Unlike them, he sees the essence(本质) of things. He cares more about a flower and a sheep then the "important" things of adult world.

    The prince lives on his planet with a rose. He loves the rose very much. But he soon feels tired and leaves his planet. He meets many more strange adults on other planets.

    On Earth, he discovers interesting things such as a snake, other roses and a fox- The fox tells him a secret: Only the heart can discover the most important things. This helps the prince realize his love for the rose and he goes back to his planet.

    David walked down the street. All he wanted to do was to play basketball with Jim. But his mother told him to return his sister's books to the library on his way to Jim's house.

    In his eyes, books and summertime just don't go together. He thought he had read a lot during the school year. And he had never set foot inside a public library. Today he'd just drop the books off in the outside return box, but it was locked. He had to go inside to return them.

David walked inside the building a few minutes before closing time. He put the books into the return box. After a quick drink of water and a short stop in the toilet, he'd be on his way to meet Jim. He walked out of the toilet. The library lights were turned off. He was locked — in a library.

    David tried to use the telephone, but he couldn't find one. As the sun began to set, he searched for a light and found a little one on the desk. He used a pencil to write a note on a big piece of paper. It read, "I'm locked inside. Please call for help." He put it on the front door. Surely, someone passing by would see it. He then turned his attention to the library itself.

    He was surprised to discover that this place was not so bad. Rows and rows of books! When he saw a book about Michael Jordan on the desk, he picked it up. He opened the book and began to read. He felt that being locked in the library didn't seem to be such a terrible thing.

    Jane was from a small village in Southern America. Her family was poor and noodles were often their only food. Her parents couldn't afford to pay the electricity bill (电费), so she had to study by candle light.

    What was worse, to live on, her parents moved to a faraway village with the other four children. As for Jane, she didn't want to give up learning and she dreamed to enter a famous university. She stuck to living alone in her village.

    After Jane's parents left, she lived a really difficult life. Having no place to live in, the homeless girl had to sleep on the back seat of the school bus. Luckily, Mrs. Brown, the caring school bus driver, learned about Jane's situation and invited her to live with her family. Soon, Jane found a job in her school. She worked from 6 a. m. to 7:40 a. m. before the first school bell rang. She swept floors and picked up rubbish again in the afternoon. With the money she got from the work, she paid for her education. And she stayed up late in the evenings studying for all kinds of exams day after day.

    Jane's hard work made a difference to her life. She finished high school with unexpected results. She was accepted by Harvard, one of the world's most famous universities with full scholarship (全额奖学金).

The 18-year-old girl created her own future with her never-give-up attitude and hard work.

    After I finished college, I couldn't find a job in Los Angeles. At last I had to move to Las Vegas but left my family behind. I missed them all week, and I went home on most weekends to see them. I often rented a car because I would often have lots of problems on the way to Los Angeles or to Las Vegas if I drove my poor car.

    One time I decided to save money, and I drove my car. It got to California, but on the way back to Vegas it was broken. I didn't know what I should do. Then a middle-aged man drove up. He put in some coolant and repaired my car. He made it start soon.

    I gave him the $12 in my wallet, and he said he would use it for the next car. Then I knew that he was a mechanic who drove up and down the highway each weekend to help the drivers in trouble.

    Now fifteen years has passed, but I still think about what a great man he is.