On Mother's Day, after my children arrived home from school, the doorbell 1 . I went to answer it, and there stood two clean-faced, tall, smiling2 . They held two of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. They said to me, “Do you 3 us? You often fed us cookies! They were so 4 . We wanted to come back and thank you and say “Happy Mother's Day” because you were like a mom to us!” I couldn't help crying, and thanked them.

    I remembered the old days. At that time I did not have a lot of money or a big house and l was a single mom with three young  5 of my own. The two boys were a bit older than my children. They always visited my yard, but they 6 cared about the fact that their faces were dirty. Every day they enjoyed themselves with my 7 girls and one small boy.

    I spent a lot of time 8 healthy cookies. The two boys played happily in my yard, and they were quite happy to share food, books, games and then, for a time, they didn't  9 us. I wanted to know what happened in their lives, and hoped for the best.

    But now they came back and thanked me. This is the 10 gift I have ever received from two young boys.

    A few weeks ago, John went to a new school. He likes it better than his1school. The classrooms are big and 2. Every classroom has a computer in it, The 3 is also great! There are lots of books, magazines and newspapers in it. It also has4chairs and students can sit on them when they 5. The food in the school dining hall is delicious and 6 All of the students like to 7 there. The beef noodles are John's favorite. John's favorite 8 in the school is the lecture(演 讲) hall. The students often 9 there to listen to speeches, Last week John went there for an interesting speech and he 10it.

    The school has many 11. There is a music festival every June. The sports meeting is 12 one of the most popular activities at the school. It is 13 September every year, John is happy that he can14 at this school, He enjoys his life here 15 he has the best teachers and the friendliest classmates.

Today is December 12th, 2023. It's a good day for1 in China. I'm glad to go to Wanda Plaza (广场)2 my family. First, we go to the3 . My brother needs a shirt. "4 do you want?" the saleswoman asks. "White," "We have really nice white5 . How about this one?" My brother thinks it's too6 , "Look at this one. It is big." says the saleswoman, "you can7 ". My brother8 it and he buys it. My father buys a9 of sports shoes in the next store. After that, we go to Walmart Supermarket. My mother buys some vegetables.10 ¥16.00. I buy a notebook11 my good friend, Tom. It's only (仅仅) ¥ 3.00. And we like eating apples, so we buy two boxes of apples. Finally (最后), we go back home happily and we have a12 day!

My baby graduated last week. Waiting for the ceremony to begin, I took a photo and posted it on Facebook with words "I'm teary. " However, autocorrect (自动更正) changed my words to "I'm ready. " For a minute I was unhappy. But the next minute I was cheering the handsome man, as he walked straight with a big smile to the headmaster. My heart was filled with pride, and I began to wonder if autocorrect had known something. 

The idea of "empty nest" is often connected with sadness, but the truth is that birds don't have a problem with it. Birds' parents encourage their children to leave the nest as soon as possible, while continuing to provide support. That sounds right to me. The fact that my kid is brave enough to go out on his own means I did my job well. And I should have the rewards. 

So, I started with a hot bath at 6:00 p. m. I enjoyed it for over an hour, and then went out to do some running. Back home then, I cooked salmon -my favourite fish but my boy disliked its smell. Later, in the evening, I didn't have to tell anyone to turn off his computer and get some sleep. But at midnight, I missed my boy a little bit more. 

The next morning, I went for a walk. Was I a terrible mother to live in the house by myself? Then I remembered: my kid flew because I taught him to fly. If I'm happy to be drinking coffee as I write this, it's not about not loving my boy but about finding his independence when he's away. It's about realizing that when your smartphone autocorrects "teary" to "ready", you should take note. 

I hoped to be set free one day,so I was nice to the Lilliputians.Gradually,     ▲     .Sometimes the children even played hide-and-seek in my hair.

One day,the king said to me,"Gulliver,I invite you to watch an important performance.It is a contest called Rope Dancing".In the contest,a thin rope was tied between two poles very high above the ground.People had to dance on this rope.Each dancer tried to jump higher than the others.I had never seen such a dangerous sport.

"Your Majesty,"I said,"many dancers must fall and be hurt or killed."

"Yes,"he replied,"But I will give the best jobs in my kingdom to the men who are not afraid and jump the highest."What a strange way to choose who will work for the country!"I thought.

Then,as the king watched,I tied each corner of my handkerchief to a strong stick, and pushed the four sticks into the ground.My handkerchief was now under the rope but above the ground.Any dancer who fell would land on the handkerchief and not get hurt. The king was very pleased with my invention.His family and many other people watched the rope dancing.

Would you and the queen like to see better?"I asked the king.I gently put them on my hand and held it beside the rope.They had a good view of the dancers.One very skilled performer held on to the rope and flipped(翻转)his body right over it.The king and the queen clapped loudly and cheered.Later the king told me that he made this man one of his chief(首要的)advisors.

The king and I met often.He seemed to enjoy our conversations.One day,I said again,"Your Majesty, please set me free."This time he answered,"I have talked to my

advisors.We agree that you have been good to our people." 

Bonnie shook with cold. It was almost 1 . Bonnie needed a warm and safe place to spend the following months. 

Finding a new place to sleep was 2 than he thought. No place was right. Finally, Bonnie found a cave in a hill. It was 3 except for one thing. The opening was small because it was covered with a lot of soil and roots. "I'll dig out some soil and make the entrance bigger," he thought. Bonnie dug and dug. It took a lot of hard work and effort. 

The roots were too strong to be cleared away.4 he heard a loud sound, "rack". Bonnie turned quickly and saw a small squirrel. He smiled at Bonnie, "It seems that you need help." Bonnie sighed, "I have been trying to 5 this cave, but it's difficult." 

"I'm Jack, and I can help," said the squirrel. "But you are too small," said Bonnie. Bonnie sat down as Jack ran away. A few minutes later, he came back. 

"What you need is a book," said Jack. "Reading can help you. Books are full of knowledge. He handed Bonnie a thick book." 

Bonnie paid careful attention to the story about a lion and a mouse. 

The lion thought the mouse was too 6 to help him. One day the lion got caught in a 7 . The mouse chewed( 咬 ) the net's ropes and helped the lion run away. "The lion learned an important lesson," said Bonnie. "I think I did, too." The mouse had sharp teeth and so did Jack. Jack could help. The new friends made a fine team. Jack chewed through the thick roots and Bonnie dug out the soil. Finally, Bonnie could 8 the opening easily. 

"Are you 9 with your new home?" asked Jack. "Sure, I am!" said Bonnie, "I won't be homeless on such a cold day any more! And I have 10 something, too. Never look down upon others who appear to be weaker than you."