An elephant and a monkey were arguing (争论).

    “Look, how big and strong I am!” The elephant said.

    The monkey didn't agree, “Look, how fast I can run and climb! Can you?”

    At last they asked a clever tiger, “Which is better—to be strong or to be quick?”

    The tiger said, “Go across the river and pick the fruit on that tree for me, then I can tell.”

    So they went to the river, but the water ran fast and the monkey was afraid.

    “Get on my back,” said the elephant proudly (自豪地), “I shall carry you.”

    Soon they crossed the river. There stood the tree. But the fruit was too high for the elephant to reach. He tried to pull the tree down, but failed.

    “Don't worry.” The monkey climbed quickly up the tree, and picked the fruit.

    Then they came back and gave the tiger the fruit. “Which is better — to be strong or to be quick?”

    The tiger smiled, “Both of you could not get the fruit alone. It took both the elephant's strength and the monkey's quickness to get it.”

    Several months ago, my husband and I were on an island for a long weekend with our five-year-old twin daughters. As we went back and talked about what to do next, our girls jumped in and told us exactly what they wanted to do. "We want to go to the butterfly museum," said Emily and Hanna.

    As soon as we walked into the main area of the museum, we saw thousands of beautiful butterflies. They all flapped (拍打) their colourful wings.

    My girls were jumping up and down, and I knew it was right for us to take them to the museum. They were having so much fun.

    I turned to our museum tour guide because I was curious (好奇的) and asked, "How long do butterflies live?"

    She said, "About ten days."

    "What can butterflies do in ten days?" I asked.

    The guide stopped, looked at me, and said, "They make the world a more beautiful place."

    "Wow," I said, "I never thought about butterflies like that. Thank you."

    After we said goodbye, I couldn't stop thinking about what the guide had said. She was right. We all have something to give the world with the time we have. When we put our gifts on taking care of each other every day, we can make a difference.

    Appreciate (欣赏) the impact (影响) you can have on your family, friends, co-workers and neighbours. Like a butterfly, you have your own way of making the world more beautiful for everyone.

    Harry is eighteen years old now. He studies in a middle school. His parents like him very much and hope he can become a famous man. So they tell him to study hard and they do all for him. They call him at six in the morning, after breakfast his father takes him to school in a car and in the afternoon, as soon as the young man comes back, the supper is ready. Of course, he never washes his clothes or goes to buy anything in the shops.

    Once Harry's father was sent to London on business. He would stay there for half a year. Leaving, he told his wife to take good care of their son. The woman had to get up earlier and did all that her husband did before. And two months later she was so tired that she was ill in bed. Now the young man got into trouble. He couldn't do any housework. He had to do as his mother told him. Even he didn't know where to get on the bus! Yesterday Harry's mother found his shoes were worn out and told him to buy a new pair in the shop. But he didn't know how to choose. The woman had a size and gave him a shoe pattern and told him to buy a pair of shoes himself. It was Saturday that day and Harry didn't go to school. With a policeman's help, he found a shop. The shopkeeper was friendly to him. The man brought a lot of shoes and asked him to choose. When he was trying on a pair, suddenly he remembered something and took them off. The man was surprised and asked," What's the matter, young man?"

    "I'm sorry. I've left the shoe pattern at home!"