A well-known old man was being interviewed and was asked if it was correct that he had just celebrated his ninety-ninth birthday.

     “That's right.” said the old man. “Ninety-nine years old, and I haven't an enemy in the world. They're all dead.”

  “Well, sir,” said the interviewer, “I hope very much to have the honour of interviewing you on your hundredth birthday.”

     The old man looked at the young man closely, and said, “I can't see why you shouldn't look fit and healthy to me!”

    Once a king got two nice falcons(猎鹰)from his son. He had never seen such beautiful falcons before. He loved them so much and he ordered the best falconer to train them to fly.

    After several months, the king came to see how the training was going on. He found that one falcon had already been able to fly high in the sky, while the other was staying on the branch(树枝) of a tree quietly, just keeping still.

    The king called all his falcons together and ordered them to try every way they could to make the other falcon fly. But none of them succeeded. One day, while the king was taking a walk in the forest, an idea came to his mind. Maybe someone who knew the natural environment well could solve this problem. He sent for a farmer who lived in the forest into his palace to train it at once.

    The next morning, the king saw the other falcon flying above in the sky freely. “It is unbelievable !” shouted the king. How could you make it happen?”

    The farmer replied, “It's very easy. I just cut off the branch where the falcon rested.”

    It is always the same to human beings. We all have “two flying wings” in our hearts as well, but we often seem not to notice them and stay where we just for safety and comfort. We won't realize we can fly so high and freely until the “branch” we are resting on breaks.

    It was a very hot day. A lion and a sheep were both thirsty (口渴的). The sheep found a small pool. Just when the sheep started to drink water from the pool, the lion came up to him and shouted, "I should drink first. I' m the king (大王) of all the animals. Get out of my way!"

    "No," said the sheep. "I should drink first. I found the water."

    "You will drink it all up," said the lion. "There won't be any left, and I' m almost dead (死的) with thirst.'

    "And I haven't drunk water all day," said the sheep.

    So they started to quarrel. They shouted louder and louder, and the lion even ran after the sheep to the top of a small hill.

    Suddenly the lion stopped. He looked up into the sky. The sheep looked up, too. A vulture (秃鹫) was there. All the animals knew and were afraid of him. He is Bird of Death, who likes to jump on the bodies of dead animals and eat them. The lion and the sheep knew it

    If we go on quarreling, said the lion, "we will both die of thirst, and the vulture will eat us. Go to the water and drink, but don't drink it all."

    The sheep did as the lion said, and the two animals weren't thirsty anymore.

    After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his son's school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake.

    He was shocked. He didn't know what he should do for a while, and then he remembered the words he had said to his son, "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins（废墟）.

    As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, "It's dangerous here! There's nothing you can do!" To them he replied with one line," Are you going to help me now?" And then he kept on digging.

    He went on because he needed to know for himself, "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" He dug for 8 hours…12 hours…24 hours…36 hours… Then, in the 39^th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son's words. He shouted his son's name, "Armand!" He heard back, "Dad?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me, and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, 'No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!' You did it, Dad!"

    "What's going on there?" the father asked, "There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're frightened, hungry. Thirsty, but thankful you're here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle（三角形）and it saved us."

Come out, boy!"

    "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me."

    A poor boy lived in a small town. He sold things from door to door to pay for school. One day, he had only one cent left, and he was hungry. He decided that he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, when a young woman opened the door, the boy was shy, so he just asked for some water. The woman knew he was hungry, so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much should I pay for it?" "You needn't pay for it. My mother has told me that it is good to help the people who are in trouble," she replied. The boy said, "Then I thank you from my heart." As the boy left that house, he felt stronger. He knew he had many things to do.

    Many years later, the young woman became ill. The local doctors couldn't save her. Her family had to send her to a big city. When the doctor knew who the woman was, he was excited and did his best to save her life. He succeeded. The woman needed to pay for the medical bill (账单). The doctor learned that she couldn't afford it, so he wrote something down on the medical bill. The woman read the bill, "You paid it with a glass of milk."