Peter was a small boy. He lived with his parents in a small house near some hills. The people there were all poor.

    One night it was very dry and windy. When everybody was asleep, Peter suddenly heard some noise. It came out from the kitchen. He got up and walked to the kitchen. He found that the wood beside the stove was burning. There was no water tap (水龙头) in the house, so he could not put out the fire. He shouted loudly to wake up everyone in the house. Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up. They all left their houses quickly.

    At last the firemen put out the fire. Many people lost their homes. But luckily, all of them escaped the fire with a whole skin.

    A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦)was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).

    "You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that's what you can't do. Let's have a flying competition. I'll show you what real flying is ! "

    One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge(挑战). The crow flew up and began to show off his skills. He flew in circles, did other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

    Now it was the swan's turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价)about his flying. They flew on and on until they couldn't see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so tired that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to try to stop himself from falling into the water.

    The swan pretended(假装) not to notice and said, "Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?"

    "No," said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. "I'm in trouble because of my pride! If you don't help me, I'll lose my life... "

    The swan took pity on him, and took him on his back and flew back to the beach.

    Karl goes shopping with his mother on Sunday. What do they buy in the supermarket?

    What fruits do they buy? Karl's father likes apples very much. They buy some apples for him. Karl's mother likes bananas, but there are many bananas at home. So they don't buy them. But she buys some strawberries for herself. Karl likes oranges very much, so his mother buys some for him.

    The vegetables in the shop are very good. They buy some tomatoes and onions. Karl doesn't like onions, but his father and mother like them.

After shopping, Karl and his mother have some milk and ice creams. And then they go back home with the fruits and vegetables.

    That warm day was the only day of the week without rain. I opened the door, took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. Suddenly, I noticed that the house near mine had been sold. An elderly lady was in front of the door, with some beautiful flowers beside her. I walked to her. She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.

    "Hi! My name is Karmen," I said smiling brightly at the old lady. She smiled back and said. "Hello, Karmen. I'm Henrietta." Her voice was very strong for someone at her age. Later, I learnt she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her. From that day on, I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food. A year passed, and I considered Henrietta to be one of my best friends.

    One day, I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again, and she still didn't turn up. So I let myself in, using the key she had given me. I checked her living room and then her kitchen. I finally went into her bedroom, and she was lying peacefully on her bed. Beside her there were two notes. One was her will, which said all that she had would be given to me. The other was a thank-you note. I went to her bedside and cried sadly.

    Though several years have gone by, I still miss her deeply. Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house. I remember the wonderful friendship we had.