Once there was a famine（饥荒）.A rich cook sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town and said to them, “In this basket there is a piece of bread for each of you. Take it and come back to me every day at this hour for more.”

    In a hurry the hungry children got together around the basket, and fought over the bread because each wanted the largest piece.At last they went away without even thanking the good cook. Mary, a poorly-dressed girl, did not fight with the other children,but stood quietly in distance.When the badly-behaved children had left,Mary took the smallest piece,which was all left in the basket.She kissed the cook's hand and went home.

    The next day the children were as badly-behaved as before. Mary got a piece of bread almost half the size of the one she got the first day.When she came home,her mother cut the bread open. Many new, shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

    Her mother was very worried, and said, “Take the money back to the cook at once.The silver must have fallen into the dough（面团）by accident. Hurry up, Mary” When the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said, “It was no mistake.I had the silver pieces put into the smallest bread for you as a prize. Always be as satisfied, peaceable and thankful as you now are. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is yours.”

    "I have some exciting news, class," said Mrs. Pike.

    It was almost lunchtime, and Jenny Archer was hungry. She drew a piece of apple pie in her notebook. Sometimes Mrs. Pike's news wasn't very exciting.

    Once, Mrs. Pike had said it would be exciting to watch a filmstrip (幻灯影片) called Tommy Tooth and the Whole Truth about Teeth. But it wasn't.

    "We're going to have a contest(竞赛)," said Mrs. Pike.

    Jenny put down her pencil.

    "The whole school will take part," Mrs. Pike went on. "We're going to collect empty tin cans to sell. We'll use the money to buy a video camcorder and a TV monitor for' the school. "

    "What kind of contest is that?" asked Clifford Stern. "Just collecting cans?"

    "The class that collects the most cans," said Mrs. Pike, "will use the camera first. We will make our own class movie. You could all be star!"

    "Me, a movie star!" Jenny said to herself. Now, that was exciting.

    "The person in the class who brings in the most cans will direct the first movie," Mrs. Pike finished.

    Wow! Directing a movie might be even better than starring(主演) in one. The director could make up the whole story. He/She would choose the actors and tell everybody what to do. Jenny loved to make up stories. And she was good at telling people what to do.

    She was sure she'd be a great director.

    The whole class was noisy at once. She looked over at her friend Beth. Beth's eyes were bright.

    "You can be the star of my movie," Jenny whispered to her.

    "Your movie? What do you mean?" Beth asked.

    "I mean when I win the contest," Jenny said.

    "What if I win the contest?" Beth said.

    "But I have to win," answered Jenny. "I've always wanted to make a movie."

    "Since when?"

    "Well, I realised it just now," Jenny admitted. "But don't you think I will make a good director?"

    “I think I might make a good director," Beth said.

    Beth was one of Jenny's two best friends. Jenny didn't want to fight with her. But she really wanted to direct the class movie.

    "Let's not fight." Jenny said. "We will both be good directors."

    "You're right," Beth said. "We won't fight. Let's just say, may our friendship last forever. "

    Jenny shook Beth's hand. "May our friendship last forever," she repeated.

What are the cultural differences between China and the West? You might be able to find the answer in Cao Siyu' s comics(连环漫画).

Cao, 36, was born in Beijing, but left home at 20 and has studied and lived in the US, the UK, and France for 12 years. Having seen so many cultures, Cao wanted to use her drawing skills to show the differences she has experienced. So she created the cartoon series Tiny Eyes Comics.

"My experience shows that although travel is much easier and faster today, the distance(距离)between cultures hasn't shortened,"Cao said. She hopes to build bridges and break down misunderstandings between different cultures. One of her cartoons shows water forms in different countries. Three glasses of water are shown. The glass of water from the US has ice; the one from France is full of sparkling water(苏打水); the one from China is steaming(冒热气的).

Cao also uses her cartoons to show different ways of thinking and social customs. She once used her comics to explain why Chinese people prefer to wear masks while western people don't. "Her simple pictures have played a big part in showing Chinese culture," Italian magazine Grazia reported.

Many foreign readers say that Cao's comics help them understand China, while Chinese living abroad have felt that they are seen and understood. She said that this voice has been the biggest motivation(动力) for her to keep creating.