Long, long ago the world was a happy place. Nobody was ever sick or sad.

    At that time there lived a little girl named Pandora. One day a fairy gave her a wonderful box. The fairy made Pandora promise not to open it. Pandora and her friends often looked at the box and wondered what was in it.

    For a long time Pandora kept her promise, but at last she couldn't help herself. She opened the box a little. Then hundreds of bad fairies flew out. They stung (刺伤) Pandora and her friends. The bad fairies flew out of the door and stung all the children in the land. Then Pandora heard a voice crying, “Let me out, and I will help you.”

    She opened the box again, and a beautiful fairy flew out. She told Pandora that her name was Hope. She kissed Pandora and her friends, and made them feel well. Then she flew away to help the other children.

    Until now, when people are sick or unhappy, the little good fairy, Hope, comes to comfort them.

    Dr Seuss was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They combine(结合) funny words, pictures, and social opinion. Children enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.

    Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish(刊登) it. They said it was too different. A friend finally published it. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children's books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.

    In 1954, life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.

    In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. The story is about a cat who tries to entertain(娱乐) two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home. The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words, which is called Green Eggs and Ham.

    In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents.

    He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people.

    I think that a great friend is a great artist who can change my feeling about life greatly. When I talk about the person who influenced me most, I must think of my best friend quickly.

    When I was in my university, one of my classmates sat beside me. His name is Wang Tao. He is my unforgettable friend in my life. He is good at study and handsome. Everyone knows that he is a genius (天才) of my university.

    He is kind-hearted and is always ready to help others. But he doesn't like others praising him, because he thinks what he did is common. There is an old saying: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Wang Tao sets a good example in many parts in my life. I remember that my mathematics was mediocre at that time, but he was excellent in solving mathematics problems. He often received high scores. I wished I could reach his level. We talked all day long, and he was patient and polite to answer my mathematics questions. Slowly, I made great progress in mathematics. I passed the examination finally. Then we became friends naturally. And now, I still remember his strong will to study.

    We know that we live in a society, so we all need a lot of friends. There are two kinds of friends, good ones and bad ones. Bad friends may make our life unsuccessful, while good ones make our life successful. To me, Wang Tao is a very good friend. I learned so many advantages from him, and I became more and more excellent.

    We separated three months ago. Now I miss him very much, and I hope that our friendship will continue.