Many of you have heard a Cinderella (灰姑娘) story, but you may not know that there are over a hundred different ways to tell the Cinderella story. When writers tell the same story in a different way, it is called their “version” of the story. The story of Cinderella has many different versions. Let's read two of them and find out how they are different.

The version that most people know is the oldest one written in 1697 by Charles Perrault from France. This is the version where the birds help make Cinderella's dress and the mice turn into carriage men (马车夫) and help Cinderella go to the dance in a pumpkin (南瓜) carriage. In this version, many of the animals are Cinderella's friends. They help her meet the Prince. Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily together ever after.

In another version of this story written in the 1850s by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm from Germany, the birds help Cinderella in the whole story. Cinderella's father gives her a little tree when he comes back from a party. She plants the little tree and her tears water it until it grows into a tall tree.

The birds now live in the tree and they give Cinderella a dress of gold and shoes of gold. Cinderella goes to the party to meet and dance with the Prince. Later, he finds Cinderella at home doing work for her stepmother (继母). Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily ever after.

Now you can understand what the word “version” means and how more than one writer can tell a story in a different way. That is why there are many versions of the same story.

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    TF boys, a boy band that has three middle school students, many people like them very much. The band name TFBOYS means The Fighting Boys(拼搏少年).

    Wang Junkai, 14, from Chongqing. Wang is a student at TF-Entertainment when he is 8. He still goes to school like other kids on weekdays. But his weekends are busy with training(训练) classes. He learns how to sing and dance. Many boys can't do it, but Wang can.

    Wang Yuan, 13, from Chongqing. Fans like to call Wang “Er Yuan” because he is a funny boy. Because he likes telling jokes(笑话). The boy's life is easy. His phone is only 300 yuan.

    Yiyang Qianxi, 13, from Hunan. Yiyang is short. He is a good student. He is a great dancer. He joins in TV shows. He plays different roles in many movies. He is good at calligraphy(书法). When other children show their new clothes on Weibo, Yiyang shows his calligraphy work. How can he be good at so many things? “I am practicing dancing when others are playing.” he says.

    There was once a man called Mr. Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life. He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions（比赛）. He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup（银杯）for the Rose of the Year.

    Mr. Flowers' glass-houses were very near to a middle school. Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted（引诱）to throw a stone or two at one of Mr. Flowers' glass-houses. So Mr. Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day.

    But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times. Mr. Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful. He had been to school to report to the headmaster; but this had not done any good. He had tried to drive away the boys that threw stones into his garden; but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away. He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden, so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others.

    At last Mr. Flowers had a good idea. He put up a large notice（布告）made of good, strong wood, some meters away from the glass-houses. On it he had written the words: DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE. After this, Mr. Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses.

    Mr Gao lives in a town. When he was twenty-five, his son was born. He called him Gao Ling. The little boy is very clever and his parents love him very much.

    It's September 1 today. A new school year begins. Gao Ling is happy and wears his most beautiful clothes. He's going to school with his new bag.

    "Let me take you to school today, dear," says Mrs Gao.

    "Thank you, Mum," says the boy. "The school is not far from here. I can walk there myself."

    At school a teacher meets the little boy and asks, "What's your name, my little friend?"

    "Gao Ling, sir," answers the boy.

    "How old are you?"

    "Six, sir."

    "What's your father's name?"

    "Gao Dalin, sir."

    "How old is he?"

    "He's six too, sir."

    "Oh," he says in surprise. "Is he as old as you?"

    "Yes, sir." says the boy. "He became a father at the time when I was born."