A     

    There was a beautiful garden. Every year the king would go to the garden to decide(决定) which flower was the most beautiful one. 

    For the last few years, the rose was always Number One. Because of this, the rose Gulaab became arrogant. It would never let birds stay on its flower. Then all the birds started staying away from Gulaab.

    Behind Gulaab, there was a little yellow flower. People called it Junglee. Junglee wasn't more beautiful than the rose, but it welcomed the birds to stay on its flower. All the birds in the garden liked it.

    This year the king went to the garden as before. The gardener(园丁) pointed at the rose and said to the king, “Your favorite flower, my king.”

    Of course, the king also saw the yellow flower behind it and asked, “What flower is that?”

    “Oh! That's Junglee, a wild flower.”

    “I didn't see a flower like it before. There are so many birds on it. I think it's much more beautiful than the rose. It will be the King Flower of this year!” said the king.

    One day a farmer took his horse to the town for sale and hoped to bring some money home. On his way he saw an old woman. She looked weak, so the farmer carried her on his horse. Before the woman said goodbye, she gave the farmer a ring. She told him that the ring had magic power and could make any dream come true. But he could make only one wish.

    Later the farmer sold his horse and began to walk home. Then he met an old friend and went to his friend's house to take a rest. After drinking some wine, the farmer talked to his friend about the ring. The friend asked him to drink more wine to celebrate his good luck. The farmer drank too much and then fell asleep. The friend took the ring away and put another one in its place. After the farmer woke up and left, the man took out the ring and said, "Fill the house with gold." 

    Lots of gold fell down like a heavy rain and killed the man. When the farmer got home, he thought he should wait until his children grew older to decide what wish was the best. So he hid it and forgot about it after several years.

The Basket

    Two things changed my life; my mother and a white, pretty bike basket. My mother is a strict parent and I had to earn my pocket money by doing housework around the house.

    One day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed, and there it was in the window; white, shiny, and decorated with beautiful flowers. It was so special and I knew I had to have the basket. "It's beautiful," my mother said when I pointed it out to her.

    "Mom, please, can I get it? I'll do more housework for as long as you say, but I need that basket. I really love it……"

    "You know," she said gently, "If you save up, you could buy this yourself." "By the time I make enough, it'll be gone!"

    "I'll buy the basket for you, but you have to work for it," she said.

    My mother bought the beautiful basket and put it safely in some secret place I couldn't find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing income. And then, weeks later, I jumped for joy. Oh, happy day! I made it! I finally had the exact amount we'd agreed upon.

    Days later, the unthinkable thing happened. A neighbor girl appeared with the exact same basket on her shiny, new bike. The eight-year-old me cried and ran fast back home to tell my mother about this terrible news.

    And then came the lesson I've taken with me through my life; "Honey, it doesn't matter that the baskets look the same. Your basket is extra-special," Mom said, gently drying my hot tears. "Your basket is special because you got the basket through your hard work."

In February 2021, a young man in Italy posted a video on Tik Tok about his new neighbor—and their unbelievable piano talent! They 1 their friendship by two pianos separated by one wall.

One day in January, the young man 2an idea when he heard the music from his neighbor. He wrote a note to his neighbor and 3him to play a song together： the classic "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion.

The next day, hearing the music from the neighbor, the young man was both 4and moved. Their communication soon 5piano duets （二重奏）through the wall, where each of them would create great music together.

Later, the young man 6that his neighbor's name was Emil and he was 78 years old. His wife had passed away in December from COVIEM9. Emil felt so sad and the only 7 thing left to him was playing the piano. He played it for his wife at 2 pm every weekend.

8 , Emil passed away in his sleep a few weeks later. When the young man learned the news, he felt so sad. To express his feeling, the young man wrote a letter to Emil, "Dear Emil, I knew very little about you,9 you changed my life. You gave me back my passion （激情），and we shared that with the world. You'll be in my 10.keep playing, thinking of how powerful music can be. You said I was your light, but you've been mine, too. Bye, Emil. "