“Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to get along with it,” Mrs. Brown said to her husband.

    “That sounds like a pretty good idea. Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper?”said Mr. Brown.

    “Let's go to the animal shelter. Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go,” she said.

    The next morning, the Browns met Mr. Snow at the animal shelter. “We want to be sure that the pets here can go to good homes,” Mr. Snow said, “So I need to ask you some questions.”

After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr. Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't checked her yet. So Mr. Snow told them to return on Sunday.

    On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, “Shadow has had all of her shots（预防针）. She will be healthy.” Then, the Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home.

    Lisa has always been fat. She wanted to lose weight, not only because she wanted to look more beautiful and healthier, but also because it would make life easier.

    For example, it was difficult for Lisa to find ready-made clothes. She had to ask a tailor (裁缝) to make clothes that were large enough. In school, she needed a special chair that was bigger and stronger than other chairs. If she went for a walk, she got tired very quickly.

    She was also unhappy about the way people treated (对待) her sometimes. "People look at me and even make fun of me. It's true that I'm fat, but I don't think people should treat me differently. I can't enjoy having dinner with my friends because I'm afraid of getting fatter." Sometimes when Lisa was feeling sad, she didn't want to speak to anyone.

    But now things are quite different. Last month her classmates were preparing for the School Art Week. Someone advised Lisa to play the lead role (主演) of the proud Queen who was tall and fat. Lisa agreed and practiced a lot.

    Soon after the play, Lisa became a star! She did so well that everybody remembered the proud Queen. Best Actress Award for her wonderful performance (表演).

    Now Lisa doesn't worry about being fat any more. She believes in the English saying "Every dog has its day".

    There was a man who had a big garden. He planted many fruit trees. Now he wanted to pick up the fruits and sell them to make money for his family.

    One day, when he picked fruits with his son, he saw a stranger sitting in a tree and picking the fruits. He shouted," "What are you doing in my tree? For a whole year I have taken care of these trees. You have no right to take the fruits, so come down at once!"

    The stranger in the tree answered, "This is the garden of God and I am the servant(佣人) of God, so I have the right to pick these fruits. "

    The gardener was very surprised at this answer. He called his son and said," Go to bring a rope(绳子) and get this man down from the tree," His son brought the rope and the gardener asked him to tie(绑) the stranger in the tree. The stranger began to shout, "You have no right to do this."

    The gardener answered, "This is the rope of God and I am also the servant of God, so I have the right to tie you." The stranger thought for a while and then said, "I am sorry for taking the fruits. This is your garden and I shouldn't pick the fruits. Please set me free."

    The gardener smiled and said," Since you have realized your mistake, I will set you free, but remember that God has given all his servants rights and every person's right is in his own hands."