Once upon a time, the colors of the world argued.

Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of1and hope. I am the color of grass, trees and leaves.2me, all animals would die.”3 said loudly. "What is the color of the sky and the sea? Isn't water the most important thing for life?" Yellow laughed, "I bring laughter, happiness and warmth into the world. Every time people look at a 4, they start to smile. Without me there would be no fun." Orange said at the top of his voice, "I am the color of health and strength. Think of carrots, pumpkins and oranges. When I fill the sky at5 or sunset, everyone is6 at my beauty." Red could7 it no longer, so he shouted, "I an the color of danger and bravery. I give people courage." The colors went on8. Their voices became louder and louder. The thunder（雷）got angry and the9started to pour. When the colors began to cool, the rain said, "You foolish colors! Don't you know that each of you is special?10hands and follow me." They did what they were told and together made the most beautiful rainbow（彩虹）。

    One day, my lite daughter Annie came to me with a difficult problem. "Helen hates me!" she cried. "She wants me only to be her 1.You tell Helen that I want to be her friend, but I can have other friends, too!"

    Oh! I looked at her for a few 2wondering what to do, when suddenly an idea came to me.

    I picked up two 3from the living room. I put the small basket inside the big one and said. "When everyone is born, he or she has a little basket. The lite one is 4.The big one is mine. Your little basket is inside mine.5do you think that is?"

    She looked at me 6and said nothing

    I continued, "Your little basket is in mine because when you were born, there were too many things you couldn't do for yourself. I fed you, bathed you and I7 everything else you couldn't do on your own.8 I put your basket in mine. As you grew older, when you learnt to tie your shoes, that went in your basket You 9want me to tie your shoes now, right?"

    She said softly, "No, I can tie my own shoes."

    As you grow older, there will be 10things you must do by yourself." As I spoke, I took her basket out of mine and handed it to her." You will finally 11 your own basket with things only you can do, like deciding who you want to be friends with, what college you will go to, who you will marry."

    She 12it for a while and said," I understand. There are some things that I have to do for myself because they are in my basket."

    I hugged her and continued, "One day when I become 13, you will take things out of my basket and place them into your basket. Finally, you'll take my basket. Just like I do for my mom and grandmother now." I gently 14my basket with hers.

    Life is a 15. As she watched the little basket in my hand and smiled, she understood

    It used to be our custom to take handmade baskets to friends on May Day. We would1baskets on a doorstep, knock on the door, and then run away as2as possible. It was funny to hide in a bush（灌木丛）and watch our friends open the doors and pick up the colorful gift, 3who had left it out for them.

    I clearly4the May Day of the year when I turned ten. I had a dearest friend, Pam. We had studied and5together nearly every day. However, things6after a new family moved into our small town. Pam was spending more and more time at their house and I felt7and left out.

    When my mother asked me8 I was going to take a May Day basket to Pam's house, I replied9, "Certainly not! I hate Pam. "And then I began to cry.

Mom wiped（抹去） away my tears and told me that things and people change. She explained, "One of the greatest things friends can do is to give each other a10to grow, to change and to develop. It's acceptable for 11 friends to spend time with other people."

    I finally decided to give Pam a basket as a sign of forgiveness（原谅）, and asked my sister to help me do it.12we watched from our hiding place, Pam picked up the basket and said loudly enough for us to hear, "Thank you, Susie, I hoped you wouldn't13me!"

    That day, I made a14that changed my life：I decided to hold my friends tightly in my heart, allowing them 15 to grow and to change-with or without me.

Several times each year the Queen gives afternoon tea parties at which guests are served tiny cakes filled with cream from her own cows. Cakes and sandwiches are bought in by footmen, yet you never see the Queen touch a thing. She

simply sits beside a big silver plate, pouring cups of tea for everyone and carefully avoiding the cakes.

At cocktail parties the Queen moves from group to group, chatting informally, and manages to make one glass of diet drink to last a whole evening. Tours abroad are difficult because hosts seem to believe the warmth of their welcome must be shown with wonderful state banquets(宴). But the Queen has perfected the art of appearing to enjoy her meal without actually eating much. During one visit to the Pacific islands of Tonga, a specially-prepared dinner was set up in   a hut made of wood and bamboo leaves. Deep holes were dug in the ground, filled with hot stones and baby pigs, and the pigs were slowly cooked with dry heat over several days. The Queen looked uneasily at her plate when she discovered a   whole roast(烤) pig was her serving.

Then she became uneasy when a turkey, some meat, bananas and an apple were also carried in for each guest. So she depended on her old favourite trick of talking with her host, King Tupou IV, carrying on a warm conversation. At the same time she pushed her food around her plate and only ate a piece of turkey and some fruit.

Reporters traveling with her have noticed that the Queen will sometimes seem so interested in a foreign leader's political(政治的) chat that she simply never has time to finish a meal before it is time to get up and make her speech. She will lift her fork, then put it down again to make another point, leaving almost all of her meal untouched.