Many of you have heard a Cinderella (灰姑娘) story, but you may not know that there are over a hundred different ways to tell the Cinderella story. When writers tell the same story in a different way, it is called their “version” of the story. The story of Cinderella has many different versions. Let's read two of them and find out how they are different.

The version that most people know is the oldest one written in 1697 by Charles Perrault from France. This is the version where the birds help make Cinderella's dress and the mice turn into carriage men (马车夫) and help Cinderella go to the dance in a pumpkin (南瓜) carriage. In this version, many of the animals are Cinderella's friends. They help her meet the Prince. Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily together ever after.

In another version of this story written in the 1850s by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm from Germany, the birds help Cinderella in the whole story. Cinderella's father gives her a little tree when he comes back from a party. She plants the little tree and her tears water it until it grows into a tall tree.

The birds now live in the tree and they give Cinderella a dress of gold and shoes of gold. Cinderella goes to the party to meet and dance with the Prince. Later, he finds Cinderella at home doing work for her stepmother (继母). Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily ever after.

Now you can understand what the word “version” means and how more than one writer can tell a story in a different way. That is why there are many versions of the same story.

    Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a girl asked him to sing a song.

    “I don't sing,” said the man.

    But the girl told the waiter, “I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing! ”

    The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get money, sing a song!”

    So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song!

    He had skills(技能) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he caught the chance, and found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

    You, too, have skills. You may not feel that your skills are great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved(提高).

    Mrs. Brown lives in London.She has two sons.One is James and the other is Bill. They were born on the same day and they look the same. Mrs.Brown likes them very much and always dresses them in the same clothes，hats，shoes and even socks.

    One day James lost(丢失)his hat when he played football on the playground after school.His mother didn't blame(责备)him because she loved him so much.The next day after lunch she went to a shop with Bill's hat.She hoped to buy the same hat for James as Bill's.She wanted them to have the same kind.She asked the shopkeeper to bring out most of the hats.It took her more than an hour to find the same one.At last she chose(选择)one and said happily，"Excuse me，sir.Could you take it to my car，please？”

    "I'm afraid I can't，madam，" said the shopkeeper in a polite(有礼貌的)voice.

    "Why？"the woman asked in surprise.

    "It's your hat，madam，"the man said with a smile."You don't have a new one here."

    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."