It was nearly dark. The sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home with tears in his eyes.

  “What's the matter, Tom? How's your trip?” his mother asked with a big smile. “I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way. I still go ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back.” Tom cried. “It doesn't matter. You are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance(机会).” his mother said. “But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!” Tom said. His father came over and asked, “Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?” “Sure, and there are a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road.” Tom replied. “Did you hear the birds singing?” his father asked. “There are many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet.” Tom said. “Did you feel the beauty of nature?” his father asked. “Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture.” Tom answered. “That's enough!” his father smiled and said, “Please remember, son. For often, achieving(获得) what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn't reach the top of the mountain, you got a lot on the way.”

    It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery(风景) is on the way.

    Our dog Abbey died last month. My 4-year-old daughter Lucy missed her a lot and asked if we could write a letter to God to make sure he could look after Abbey well. I told Lucy that I thought we could, and she dictated(口述) these words:

    We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Lucy and addressed it to God/Heaven. Yesterday, we received a package addressed "To Lucy" with this note:

The story of the red-crowned crane

    Have you ever heard of the song "The story of the red-crowned crane"? It is about a girl called Xu Xiujuan.

    Xu xiujuan was born in Zhalong, Heilongjiang Province in 1964.Her father's job was to look after red-crowned cranes. Xiujuan started helping her father when she was young. She soon showed a great love for these white birds. She become good at raising them.

    When Xu Xiujuan was 21, she got a job at a nature reserve in Jiangsu Province . She enjoyed taking care of the baby cranes. If a bird become sick, she took good care of it stayed with it every day until it was strong enough to fly again.

    In September 1986, one of the birds went missing .The workers in the nature reserve looked everywhere, but no one could find it. Xiujuan was very worried. She looked for it day and night for two days. On the second night, while she was looking for the missing bird, she fell into a river and died. She was only 23.

    Later, a song was written in memory of Xiujuan. Though Xiujuan died young, people always remember her when they hear the song or see a red-crowned crane.

    A bus arrived and an old woman got on it slowly. She wore no shoes.

    A little boy pointed at (指) the old woman and said to his mother, “Look, Mum. She isn't wearing shoes.” “Don't point at others, Tom. It's rude,” the mother said and then looked out of the window.

    “She must have children,” said a woman in a fur coat. “Her children should buy shoes for her.”

    “People should learn to save money,” said a well-dressed man. “If she saved money when she was young, she wouldn't be so poor now.”

    Then all the passengers (乘客) on the bus stopped talking.

    At the next stop, a young man got on the bus. He was listening to music. When he saw the old woman, he stopped moving. He carried his eyes from her feet to his own. He was wearing his expensive new trainers. He saved money for months to buy them. Unexpectedly, the young man took off his trainers and socks. He stood before the old woman. “Madam,” he said, “I see you have no shoes. Well, I have.” Carefully and gently, he put his socks and fine trainers on the old woman's feet.

    Just then the bus arrived at the next stop. The young man got off the bus and walked away, wearing no shoes in the snow.

    “Who is he?” one asked. “He must be an angel (天使),” said another. But the honest (诚实的) little boy said, “No. He was only a man.”