Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Many heroes are not even human, such as dogs, horses and cats. They are so brave and helpful that human beings are proud of them, too. Lucca, a 12-year-old dog, is a great animal hero. She is a retired US Marine Corps dog. On April 5, 2016 she received the Dickin Medal from PDSA in London, England. And PDSA will provide free medical care for the sick and wounded animals in need. The Dickin Medal was founded in 1943 by Maria Dickin. The Medal is the highest prize for animals working in wars in the world.

    Lucca is the first U.S. Marine Corps dog to receive the medal. As a search dog, Lucca's work was dangerous. She was trained to find hidden weapons and explosive devices. According to the US Marine Corps, Lucca protected the lives of thousands of soldiers, and no soldiers were killed while she was going around. She completed over 400 dangerous pieces of work during six years in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, she lost her front left leg in an explosion while working in Afghanistan.

    Lucca is the 66^th animal to receive the Dickin Medal. 30 dogs (including Lucca) have got the Medal as well as 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat.

    Hi, my name is Toby, and I am now eight years old. When I was five, I decided that I wanted to find out lots about the world, so I started writing letters to somebody in every country in the world. I started the project because I wanted to find out more about the world, help people understand each other better, and make the world a better place--and I still do! It's really not easy to find people in every country, but lots of people have helped me. Thank you!

    We look up all countries, and I think of questions I would like to ask. I'm interested in history, stars and planets, science, wild animals, film making, writing, reading, dancing, and how people protect the environment in lots of places all over the world! I also want to know how people live, what food they eat, and what school is like! Until now, I've written 780 letters and gotten 327 replies.

    I write all letters by hand. My mother is looking after this website for me. You can read all the letters I have written, and all the replies I have gotten. I am also raising money for ShelterBox, because they help people in need all over the world. Thank you for reading about my project!

    One day, Akbar decided to test how wise Birbal was. He took his ring off his finger and handed it to one of his courtiers (侍臣). Akbar said to him, "You must hide this ring safely with you. Make sure that no one can find it."

    As soon as Birbal came to the palace, Akbar said. "Birbal, I lost my ring this morning. It was given to me by my father. Do whatever you want, but you have to find my ring soon."

    Birbal asked Akbar to give him more information, but Akbar didn't say much. He kepp on repeating, "I don't remember anything at all. You must find my ring." Finally, Birbal said, "All right, Your Majesty (陛下)! I will find your ring soon."

    Birbal closed his eyes and pretended (假装) to think for a while. And then he said, "Your Majesty, your ring is somewhere here in this palace. It is with one of the courtiers. The courtier has a grain of rice in his beard."

    The courtier was worried. Hearing Birbal's words, he quickly moved his hand over his beard. Birbal's eyes fixed on the behaviour of the courtier. Pointing towards him, Birbal said, "Your Majesty, this courtier stole your ring."

    Akbar was surprised. He didn't understand how Birbal had succeeded in finding his ring. But once again, Akbar accepted the fact that Birbal was very wise.

    Many years ago, there lived an old man with his three sons, Dharma, Harrison and Keith, in a village. The man worked hard when he was young, so he had the largest farmyard and the most beautiful house in the village. However, his sons were all born to be lazy, which made him disappointed. He was worried that his sons would use up his money and starve to death.

    One day, the old man came up with a plan. He called his sons and said to them, "Look, my dear sons. There is lots of hidden gold in the land at the farmyard. If you work together, you may find it."

    In a wish to find out the gold, his sons worked hard from the morning to the evening digging and digging all through the land. Three days had passed, but they didn't find what they were looking for. They got frustrated and angry. They decided to give up and returned to ask their father.

    "There is no gold in the land. We are cheated."

    "Since the land has been dug soft, why don't you plant some crops there?" was the reply of the father to the sons.

    Off went the sons. Soon the whole once useless land was rich crops.

    "This is the real gold, my sons," said the proud father.