As he was sitting up in bed, Bunny heard a big noise on the roof(屋顶) and a sound downstairs. It was Santa Claus, he realized. Bunny jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to the stairs. He hoped to take a look at the old man before Santa left for his next stop.

By the time Bunny was at the bottom of the stairs, everything was silent again. Lots of presents were put under the Christmas tree, but Santa was gone. A little disappointed(失望的), Bunny turned to climb back upstairs when he heard a cry.

“Hello,”said Bunny. "Is somebody there?”

He was answered by another cry. Bunny looked around the big pile of presents to see what was making the noise. Right under the tree was a funny looking brown animal with big feet and sad eyes. It also had antlers(鹿角) on its head. Bunny almost mistook it for a dog.

“Are you a reindeer?”asked Bunny.

“Yes,” replied the brown animal with antlers. “My name is Ralph.”

“And you were pulling Santa's sled(雪橇)?”

“I was until I got air-sick,”replied Ralph. “Santa had to leave me here and go on with the other seven reindeer.”

“Isn't it a bit unusual for a reindeer to get air-sick? I mean, isn't flying what reindeer are famous for?”

“Not me, I'm afraid. It makes me scared. I always feel sick when it comes to flying,”replied Ralph. "But everyone wanted me to pull Santa's sled, so when it was my turn I gave it a try. I'm afraid I just wasn't cut out for the job. Now I'm stuck here and I don't know how to get back to the North Pole.”

“Well, if you like, you can stay with us as a friend," said Bunny. As he made the offer, Bunny suddenly realized the special present he wanted from Santa was a new friend!

 There are many fruit and vegetable gardens across the countryside. More students, at Madison Elementary School, are growing their own food in the gardens.

 The vegetables are washed. Then kids can eat them at a salad party. They are also sold in the school dining hall for lunch. This month, students will plant tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, broccoli(西兰花) and strawberries.

 Why are students learning how to grow food? Teachers want kids to learn healthy eating habits. Healthy food gives us energy. We need energy to grow.

 Many kids are now trying new food and learning how to grow food. Lisa is the parent volunteer of the program. She says a lot of students have told her, “I like salad. I didn't think I liked salad!” Then those students have gone home and asked their parents to buy vegetables that they have tried at school.

 Lisa's daughter, Lucy, is one of those students. She is in Grade Two.“I love the garden,”she says.“I didn't really like vegetables before we had the garden. Then we found out that gardening is cool. Now I like vegetables. My favorite vegetable is carrots.”

    Every year on my birthday since I was 11，a white gardenia （栀子花） was sent to my house．No card ever came with it．Calls to the flower shop were not helpful at all．After some time I stopped trying to find out the sender's name and was just pleased with the beautiful flower，in soft pink paper．

    I couldn't stop imagining who the giver might be．Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming（幻想 ）about the sender．My mother encouraged these daydreams．She'd ask me if I had been especially kind to someone．Perhaps it was one of my classmates Perhaps it was the old man who I once helped．As a girl，I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy that I had met．

    A month before my high school graduation（毕业），my father died．I was so sad that I became completely uninterested in my coming graduation dance，and I didn't care whether I had a new dress or not．My mother，in her own sadness，would not let me miss （过） any of those things．She wanted her children to feel loved．In fact，my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia：lovely，strong and perfect．

    My mother died ten years after I was married．That was the year the gardenia stopped coming．

    Tony loves his grandma. She often tells him stories about Santa Claus(圣诞老人).

    Today is December 24. Tony's grandma takes him to Kevin's Store to shop. She gives Tony fifty dollars and says, "Take the money and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car."

    Tony thinks of everyone he knows: his family, friends and classmates. Then he thinks of Bobbie. Bobbie sits behind Tony. He doesn't have a warm coat. Tony knows it because Bobbie never goes out to play in winter. So Tony buys a blue coat for him. It looks really warm.

    In the evening, his grandma helps Tony put the coat in a Christmas box, and writes, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it. "Santa always helps people but never lets them know," Tony's grandma says. They put the box in front of Bobbie's house and then go back home.

    That night Tony knows Santa Claus is real, and they are on his team(队伍).