Jehdi and Hassan were businessmen and good friends.

    One day they found themselves in a forest. They were tired so they sat down and Jehdi fell asleep.

    As Jehdi slept, Hassan saw a wasp (黄蜂) coming from his friend's nose. It flew toward a pine tree (松树), circled it three times, and then returned to Jehdi's nose.

    When Jehdi woke he said, “Hassan, What a dream! Imagine a big pine tree, like that one there. A wasp flies around it and its buzz (嗡嗡叫) seems to say,

    ‘You must dig here.' I dig and I find a big box of gold.”

    “Yes, a strange dream,” replied Hassan. “Why don't you dig around that tree and see if it's true?”

    “My friend, it was just a dream and anyway it's too hot to dig.”

    Hassan said, “If you do not want to dig, I will. Sell your dream to me.”

    “How much will you pay?” asked Jehdi.

    Hassan agreed to pay 300 coins.

    “Never have I made such a business deal. How naïve (天真的) you are, Hassan!”

    The two friends then went to the pine tree Jehdi had dreamed about. Jehdi stood there with a smile on his face to see Hassan start digging. But he laughed on the other side of his face when Hassan dug up a huge box of gold.

    After this, Hassan had so much gold that he lived a rich life until his death. Jehdi often visited him. He would say, “Well, Hassan, how are you? I have come to see my dream.” They would pat(轻拍) each other on the back and laugh. But each time Jehdi went home sadly. He could never buy back his dream.

    Do you know any 9-year-olds who have started their own museums? When Theodore Roosevelt was only nine and two of his cousins opened the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History". The museum was in Theodore's bedroom. It had a total of 12 specimens(标本). On display were a few seashells, some dead insects and some birds' nests. Young Roosevelt took great pride in his small museum.

    Born in New York in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was not always healthy. "I was a sickly, delicate boy, "he once wrote. Roosevelt had a health condition called asthma (哮喘). He often found it hard to breathe. Instead of playing, he watched nature and then read and wrote about it.

    Roosevelt's interest in nature sometimes got him into trouble. Once, his mother found several dead mice in the icebox. She ordered him to throw them out. This was indeed "a loss to science", Roosevelt said later.

    Because Roosevelt was often sickly as a boy, his body was small and weak. When he was about 12, his father urged him to improve his body. Roosevelt began working out in a gym. He didn't become strong quickly. But he did decide to face life's challenges with a strong spirit. That determination stayed with Roosevelt's whole life. And finally his body did get strong. As an adult, he was an active, healthy person. He enjoyed adventures and loved outdoors.

    In 1900, at the age of 41, Roosevelt was elected Vice President. A year later, President Mckinley was shot and killed. Roosevelt became the 26th president of the USA. At 42, he was the youngest leader the country had ever had.

    When I was a kid, I did something really terrible. My father bought me two goldfish and named them "Iasc" and" Iasc Elie". He told me that meant "Fish" and "Other Fish" in Irish. To an eight-year-old child, the names seemed really boring.

    These boring names made me feel the goldfish were boring, too.  They did nothing more than swim around in their bowl. Sometimes, for fun, they would swim to the bottom of their bowl and dance around along the bottom, looking for interesting pieces of gravel.

    I tried many ways to make the goldfish more exciting. The most interesting thing was to see how long they could live out of the water. I took a fish out of the water with my hands and watched it gasping for air. Then I put it back in the bowl.  And then I would take them out of the water again, for longer and longer each time.

    Iasc and Iasc Elie started swimming towards the top of the water, not moving very much. Then they started floating on the top of the water. In other words, they were dead.

    I thought that bigger pets are more exciting, such as a cat and a dog. It would live longer than a goldfish, and then I kept a dog as my pet.

    My cousin Tom likes candy(糖果)very much. He always asks for candy. My aunt doesn't want him to have so much candy. She doesn't think it's healthy. It's Tom's fifth birthday. His parents buy him some food, fruit and some interesting things. But they don't buy candy for him. Tom isn't happy.

    "I want to have some candy, Mum." Tom says

    "I'm really sorry. We don't have candy. And I don't think it is good for you."

    "I like candy. I want some." Tom says.

    "OK, you can have some. But you can't have it today.

    "When can I have it?"

    "Your uncle's wedding(婚礼)is on February 2nd. You can have some."

    "OK" Tom is very happy and asks, "Mum, when is your wedding?"