Henry was an office worker in a big city. He worked very hard and enjoyed travelling during his holidays.

    He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper." Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm. Good food. Fresh air. Walking. Fishing. Cheap and interesting."

    "This sounds a good idea," he thought. "I'll spend a month at West Hill Farm. I think I can enjoy walking and fishing. They'll make a change from sitting by the seaside and swimming."

    He wrote to the farmer. In the letter he said that he would like to spend the whole July there. Then on the first day of July, he left for West Hill Farm.

    But four days later, he returned home.

    "What was wrong with West Hill Farm?" his best friend, Ed. asked him. "Didn't you enjoy country life?"

    "Country life was very good," Henry said. "But there was another problem."

    "Oh. What?"

    "Well," he said, "on the first day a sheep died, and we had roast mutton (烤羊肉) for dinner."

    "What's wrong with that?" Ed asked. "Fresh meat is the best."

    "I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner."

    "Lucky you!"

    "You don't understand," Henry said. "on the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner."

    "A different kind of meat every day," Ed said loudly, "and you are complaining!"

    "Let me finish, "Henry said. "on the fourth day the farmer. died, and I didn't dare (敢) stay for dinner!"

    Mrs Green lives in a small village. Her husband is dead. But she has a son. He is twenty-one and his name is Jack. He gets work in a town and lives there. Its name is Greensea. It is quite a long way from his mother's village, and she is not happy about this, but Jack says," There isn't any good work for me in the village, mother, and I can get a lot of money in Greensea and give you some every week.

    One day Mrs Green is very angry. She gets on a train and goes to her son's house in Greensea. Then she says to him," Jack, why do you never give me a ring?

    Jack laughs and says," But, mother, you don't have a telephone.

    "No, she says, "I don't have one, but you have one.

    Mr. Black was walking in the forest. He was scared when he heard a terrible noise. But he could not get out of the forest. His friends were waiting for him in a village outside the forest. They would give him a lot of money if he took a tiger to them, or they were going to laugh at him.  

    Mr. Black liked hunting（打猎）. He usually killed some birds and small animals. But a week before, after he drank too much, he called himself a brave hunter（勇敢的猎人）. So his friends bet（打赌）him twenty thousand dollars if he could kill a tiger.

    Suddenly, he heard a little noise. He ran to a big tree, and climbed up it quickly. He didn't come down until he saw it was a farmer. He went close to him and asked," Excuse me, sir. Are there any tigers in the forest?"

    "Yes," said the farmer. "I saw a lot of tigers' tracks about a kilometer north near here."

    "Good!" Mr. Black said in a hurry. "Which way is to the south, then?"

    "Can I see my baby?" asked the happy new mother. When the baby was in her arms, she couldn't believe her eyes. The baby was born without ears.

    Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect though he had no ears. He got on well with his classmates. But one day, he said to his mother, tears in his eyes, "A big boy called me a freak(畸形物)."

    The boy's father asked the family doctor, "Could nothing be done?"

    "I believe I could graft(移植)on a pair of outer ears if they could be gotten," the doctor said. They tried to find a person who would be helpful to the boy.

    One day, his father said to the son, "You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have found someone who will donate the ears you need. But we must keep it a secret who the person is."

    The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared. His cleverness and hard work made him a very successful person. He married and lived a happy life.

    He would ask his father, "Who gave me the ears? I could do enough for him or her."

    "I can't tell you," said the father. "The agreement says that you are not allowed to know…not yet."

    It was kept a secret for years, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother's body. Slowly, the father raised the thick, brown hair. To his surprise, the son found his mother had no outer ears.

    "Mother said she was glad she never had her hair cut," his father said in a low voice, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?"