Mary is an American girl. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith find work in China. So they live in Wuhan now. Mr. Smith works in a big shop. Mrs. Smith teaches English in a middle school. Mary goes to that school on weekdays. On Sundays she goes shopping with her mother. She likes dumplings very much. Every time they'd like many dumplings. It's 6:30 in the evening now. Mrs.Smith is cooking. Mr. Smith is helping her with the housework. What's Mary doing? She is doing her homework carefully.

    There was once a man who couldn't sleep well because he was afraid that there was a stranger under his bed. He thought that as soon as he went to sleep, the stranger would come out from the bed and rob him. He was worried that the stranger might even kill him!

    Every night, after he got into bed, the man had to get up again and looked under the bed. There was never anyone there, but as soon as he got back into bed, he had to get up and looked under the bed again. This went on for hours until at last he fell asleep from exhaustion.

    The time came for the man to get married. He didn't tell his wife about his fears but she soon found out because he kept her awake all night.

  “You must go to see a doctor,” she told him. “He will make you become well. You won't have such silly fear again.”

    The man did as his wife told him. He told the doctor his problem, and the doctor said, “You can be well again, but it will take about two years. You must come and see me three times a week. The cost for each visit will be $75.”

    The next day the man called the doctor and said, “I won't need to visit you again. I'm well now.”

    The doctor was surprised. “How?” he asked. “Who made you get well?”

  “My wife did,” the man said. “When I told her how much I would have to pay you, she cut the legs off the bed.”

    It was only with her death that Nurse Edith Cavell became known, but her story became one of the great epics (ASF) of the First World War. Edith Cavell, born on December 4, 1865 at Northfolk, England, studied nursing, and became First Matron(护士长) at a hospital in Brussels, Belgium. During the war she became an important link in a chain of people helping the wounded and stray Allied soldiers (离散的盟军士兵) back to their own lines. The Germans caught her and she was sentenced to be shot. This brave woman, who had helped over two hundred soldiers to safety, acted with great pride during the short trial(审判). She said at the end her only regret was that she could not have done more than she did.

    Edith Cavell was killed by several German soldiers on October 12, 1915 after an American's request to spare her life had been rejected. There is a statue(雕塑) of her in London, arid Mount Edith Cavell in Canada is named for this heroic nurse.

    There was once a little orphan(孤儿的)girl who had no family and no one to love her. She felt sad and lonely(孤独的).

    One day, while she was walking in a garden, she noticed a small butterfly caught in a bush. The more the butterfly tried to free itself, the deeper the thorn(刺)cut into its body. The girl carefully helped the butterfly out. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy(仙女).

    "For your wonderful kindness," said the fairy, "I will grant(保证)you any wish you like."

    The little girl thought for a while and answered, "I want to be happy!"

    "Very well!" The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the good fairy disappeared.

    As the little girl grew up, she stayed happy. Everyone asked her the secret(秘密)of her happiness. She would only smile and answer, "The secret of happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."

    When she was very old and on her death bed, her neighbors were afraid that her secret of happiness would die with her. "Tell us, please," they asked. "Tell us what the good fairy said."

    The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure(安稳的)they seemed, how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me."

    Everyone has need of you.

    A little boy was playing in his sandbox on a Saturday morning．While he was building roads and houses in the soft sand, he discovered a large stone in the middle of the sandbox．

    The little boy pushed and pulled, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the stone tipped (倾斜) and then fell back into the sandbox．The little boy tried his best, but his only reward was to have the stone roll back．

    Finally the boy cried．All that time the boy's father watched him from his living room window．At the moment tears fell, his father came to the boy and the sandbox．Gently but surely he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had?" The boy said sadly, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had! No, son," corrected the father．"You didn't ask me．"With that, the father reached down, picked up the stone and removed it from the sandbox．

    Do you have "stones" in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you are too weak to lift them? There is ONE who is always ready to give us the strength we need．Isn't it funny how we try so hard to do things on our own?

    My name is Alan. I'm 12. I am English. My English teacher is Ms. Green, Her daughter is Helen. She is 13. Helen and I are good friends. This is Helen's school ID card. Its number is A-207789. My school ID card number is A-308828. I lost my school ID card this morning. I must find it. If you find it, please call me at 031—5655. You can e mail me at alan@163.com, too.