Mary was afraid of the dark. She thought there were terrible monsters（怪物） in the dark. One day her aunt Valerie came to visit. Valerie was a brave woman. Mary wanted to be like her. So Mary asked her aunt, "Are you afraid of the dark?"

    "A lot of times" answered her aunt. "When I was small, I was afraid of staying in the dark."

    Hearing this, Mary felt better.

    "I know a secret not to be afraid of the dark. Some blind children told it to me."

    "Can you tell me?" asked Mary.

    "Of course! The secret is to change your eyes. Because blind children can't see, and their hands are their eyes. At night, if anything makes you afraid, close your eyes, get out of bed, and try to see what it is. But use your hands as eyes..."

    That night when Mary felt afraid of something in the bedroom, she closed the eyes of her face and opened the eyes of her hands. She went to touch it with her hands...

    The next morning, Mary ran into the kitchen.

There was a big smile on her face. "The monster is so lovely," she cried. "It's my toy dog!"

    A farmer was put in prison(监狱). One day, he got a letter from his wife. "I am worried about our farm," she wrote. "It's time to plant potatoes, but I can't do all the digging(挖) by myself." The farmer thought over and then had an idea. He wrote to his wife, "Don't dig the fields. This is where my gold(金子) is. Don't plant potatoes until I come home." A few days later, the farmer got another letter from his wife. It said, "Two days ago, about ten prison guards(监狱看守) came to our fields. It looked as if they were looking for something. They have dug our field." The farmer wrote to his wife at once. "Now you can plant our potatoes," he wrote.

    Ben lives in a big house in the country with his family. His house is not near a town. It is twenty miles away from the nearest town. There are a lot of people in his family. They are Ben, his two sisters, his brother and his parents. His house has two floors. There are four bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and two bathrooms. He'd like to have his own bedroom but he shares a bedroom with his younger brother, Simon. His two sisters, Gina and Annie have their own bedrooms. Their house has a big yard with lots of flowers. He likes playing in the yard with his brother and sisters. At weekends his school friends often come to visit. They play in the yard, or in his room if it rains. Their house is a nice place to live in. He has a lot of fun with his family and friends in his house.

I was feeling a little blue because my mother had lost her job.

One day, while I was 1 in the street, I heard the piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people. I walked more slowly to 2 where it was coming from. Then I saw a young lady sitting at a piano.

She was singing songs about love, 3 yourself and keeping on trying. The way she was singing made me a little comfortable. I stood there 4 , watching her playing on such a crowded New York square. I thought that she must be 5 enough to perform(表演) in front of so many people.

She noticed me. I walked over and told her how good her 6 sounded. "Thank you," she said.

"I have been going through a hard time, 7 you've made me hopeful again," I said to her.

"I'm glad that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so 8 ?"

"Well, my mum has lost her job, and I'm not sure what to do..."

"Did you notice the 9 you were walking? Your head was down," she said. "Don't be upset, because 10 comes in different ways and if your head is down, you might not see it. You should 11 more... Lift your head up."

I looked 12 her, amazed at how she was encouraging me. "13 are you playing the piano here?" I asked her with a smile.

She 14 that she saw a lot of unhappy people in the world and she tried to cheer 15 up by playing music.

I smiled a little wider, realising that no difficulties could stop me from going on.

This story took place during the Warring States (战国) period. At that time, kings would often 1 each other's sons as hostages (人质) to protect their kingdoms (王国).

Now it was the prince of Wei's turn. He was going to Handan, the capital of Zhao, as a hostage. Pang Cong, an official, was going with him. Before they 2 , Pang Cong said to the king of Wei, "If someone comes to report that he has 3 a tiger in the market will Your Majesty (陛下) believe it?"

"Of course not," the king answered.

"If another man comes to say the same thing, will Your Majesty believe it?"

"I'll start to 4 about it."

"Then, what if a third man comes with the same report, Your Majesty?"

"Maybe I will think it is 5 ."

"Well, we all know that no tiger dares to go to the market. But since three men have said the same thing, everyone now 6 that there is a tiger there. Handan is much 7 from our capital than the market is from the court (王宫), and more than three people will talk against me behind my 8 . When I'm away, Your Majesty will not fail to judge (判断) what you hear, will you?"

"I know 9 to judge," the king said impatiently.

Then Pang Cong said 10 to the king and left Daliang, the capital of Wei, with the prince. But as soon as he had left, the king's ears were 11 with words against him.

After a few years, when Pang Cong 12 to Wei with the prince, the king would not see him again. He was no longer 13 .

So, "three liars (说谎的人) make a 14 " is used to say that if a lie is 15 often enough, people may start to believe it, even though it is not a fact.