A farmer had a faithful（忠诚的） horse who was old and couldn't do much work. So the farmer no longer wanted to give him anything to eat and said, “If you can bring me a lion here, I will keep you.”

    The horse was sad, and went to the forest. There he met a fox. After the fox heard the story, he said. “I will help you. Just lie down, as if you were dead, and do not move."

    The horse did what the fox asked, and then the fox went to the lion and said, “A dead horse is lying out there. Just come with me, and you have a rich meal.”

    The lion went with him, and they were both standing by the horse, the fox said, “Now let me tie the horse to your tail and you can take it home and eat it.”

    The fox's words made the lion very happy. But the fox tied the lion's legs together with the horse's tail. When the fox finished his work, he said to the horse, “Pull the lion to the farmer.”

    Then the horse pulled the lion away with him at once. The lion was very angry but he couldn't do anything. When the farmer saw the lion, he was in a good mood（心情）, and said to the horse, “ You can stay with me." And he give him enough food to eat until the horse died. 

SCENE I

One dollar a week

The doorway of the house where Chandler has a room. He is dressed in his best clothes, ready for his evening out. He is going out as his friend, Jeff White, comes in.

WHITE         What are you doing this evening, Towers?

CHANDLER      (Smiling) Tonight I'm going to live like a man with a million dollars!

WHITE         What are you talking about? You haven't got a million dollars!

CHANDLER      How much money are you and I paid each week, Jeff?

WHITE         Eighteen dollars. Why?

CHANDLER      And how much of that eighteen dollars do you spend each week?

WHITE         All of it, of course.

CHANDLER    Well, I don't. Each week I save one dollar out of my eighteen. Then, every ten weeks, I can buy myself an evening to remember.

WHITE         What do you do?

CHANDLER   I put on my finest clothes, go to one of the best restaurants in New York, eat the most expensive food on the menu, drink the best wine, and then take a taxi home!

WHITE          (Surprising) Why?

CHANDLER     Why? Because it makes me feel wonderful to sit with some of the richest people in America, and to make them think that I'm rich, too.

WHITE          You're crazy!

CHANDLER     (Laughing) Perhaps I am!

Mrs Black comes in.

MRS BLACK      Ah, Mr Chandler. I wanted to see you.

CHANDLER      Good evening, Mrs Black. What a lovely evening!

MRS BLACK   Lovely evening perhaps, but you haven't paid me for your room this month. When am I going to get the money?

CHANDLER     Soon, Mrs. Black. Very soon.

Mrs Black looks at Chandler's clothes.

MRS BLACK      You can spend money on expensive clothes, but you can't pay for your room. Is that right?

CHANDLER    (Hurrying away) Good night, Mrs Black!

    Many say their most painful moments are saying goodbye to those they love. After watching Cheryl, my cousin, watch her mother suffer for six months before dying, I think the most painful moments can be in waiting to say goodbye.

    Cheryl made the two-hour trip over and over to be with her mother. They spent long afternoons holding hands and sharing memories.

    Each time she kissed her mother before leaving, her mother would feel sad and say, “I'm sorry you drove so far and sat for so long, and I didn't stay up long to talk with you.”

    Cheryl would tell her not to worry. It didn't matter. But still her mother felt she had let her down and said sorry at each goodbye.

    “Mom, do you remember when I made the high school basketball team?” Cheryl's mother nodded.

    “You'd drive so far and sit for so long, and I never even left the bench to play. You waited for me after every game and each time I felt bad and said sorry to you for wasting your time.” Cheryl gently took her mother's hand.

    “Do you remember what you'd say to me?”

    “I would say I didn't come to see you play. I came to see you.” “And you meant those words, didn't you?”

    “Yes, I really did.”

    “Well, now I say the same words to you. I didn't come to see you talk. I came to see you.” Her mother understood and smiled as she fell asleep.

    Their afternoons together passed quietly into days, weeks, and months. To the last day they cared each other in silence, love given and received just by seeing each other.

    Bill Fuller, the postman, whistled(吹口哨) cheerfully as he pushed his bike up the hill towards Mrs Dunley's house. His work for the day was almost finished. His bag, usually quite heavy when he set out on his road, was empty now except for the letter that he had to deliver(递送) to Mrs Dunley. She lived over a mile from that village so that, when Bill had a letter for her, he always finished his day's work much later. He did not mind this, however, because she never failed to ask him in for a cup of tea.

    When Bill entered the gate of Mrs Dunley's house, he was surprised not to find her working in the garden. She usually spent most afternoons there when the weather was fine. Bill went straight round to the back of the house, thinking that she might be in the kitchen. The door was locked and the curtains were drawn. He returned to the front of the house and knocked hard on the door. There was no answer. Bill thought that this was very strange because he knew that Mrs Dunley hardly left the house.

    Just then, he noticed that her bottle of milk, which was delivered early in the morning, was still on the doorstep. This worried him. If Mrs Dunley had not taken in her milk, perhaps she was ill. Bill walked round the house until he found an open window. He squeezed(挤) through it. Then he went into the hall. There he almost fell over Mrs Dunley, who was lying at the foot of the stairs unconscious(昏迷不醒的). Realizing that there was little he could do for her, Bill rushed out of the house, stopped a passing car and told the driver to telephone for an ambulance(救护车) as soon as he got to the village.

    Sharon Reasonover first started volunteering at the age of 16. She hadn't really understood the meaning behind doing something for others until that summer day.

    Sharon got to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Dallas, Texas. RMH is a "home away-from-home" for families so they can spend little money or no money to stay close by their sick children.

    Sharon remembered her first time walking into RMH-nervous and afraid of doing something wrong. After only 5 minutes, she began to communicate with families. "That day, I played with kids, laughed with their parents, and heard so many stories," says Sharon.

    Now Sharon is a 21-year-old student at the University of North Texas. She is still volunteering with RMH. "I met so many people there, and they changed my life," she says.

    A smile that Sharon will always remember came from a girl named Caroline. Caroline was badly ill, and she had great difficulty in eating. One day, Caroline's mom was angry with her, because she refused to have dinner. To help, Sharon said to Caroline that if she ate 5 bites. Sharon would do whatever she wanted. Little Caroline ate dinner that day, and Sharon had to dance in front of everyone! Although Caroline has passed away (去世), Sharon will never forget her smile.