My mother only had one eye. I never wanted her to show up at my school.

One day during primary school, I was terribly ill. My mother came.

“Your mom only has one eye!” yelled some of my classmates. I wished my mother would have just disappeared (消失)

“If you embarrass (使……尴尬) me, why don't you just die?” I shouted at her, taking no notice of the sad look on her face. My mother just handed me some medicine and left without saying anything.

At that time, I didn't think I had hurt her feelings very much. That night I saw my mom crying in her room. Even so, I hated her tears from one eye. I made a decision: I must study hard and leave my mother.

Years later my dream came true. I was quite successful. I never thought of going back to see my “ugly" mother until one day I got a letter.

“My son ，I'm sorry I only have one eye. When you were little, you got into an accident and lost your eye. As a mom, I couldn't stand watching you live with only one eye. So I gave you mine.

I was never angry with you and I never regretted it because I love you.”

I cried out aloud. Only then did I realise how beautiful my mother was!

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.

    Today is the fifth day of July. It is Judy's birthday. When she comes back home from school, she sees a card on the table. It says, "There's a present(礼物)for you, Judy. Look for(寻找)it in your bedroom. "Judy runs in—to her bedroom. Her parents are looking at her and smiling. On the chair she sees a red box. She thinks her present is in it。She opens it, and there is a piece of paper in it. She reads it, "Dear Judy, I'm your present. My first letter(字母)is in the word 'dear', but not in 'pear'. My second letter is in 'red', but not in 'bed'. My third letter is in 'bus', and in' four'. And you can find my last letter in both(两者) 'home' and 'music'. What am I? "Judy thinks for a while and says, "Aha, I know. But where is it?" Her father tells her it is in her drawer.

    What is it? Do you know?

    Once upon a time, there lived a teacher in a small town. He often taught his students in special ways. Once he sent four of his students to go to a small farm to see apple trees in different seasons. The first student went in winter, the second in spring. The third in summer. And the last in autumn.

    After the four students came back, the teacher called them together. They pictured (描述) their feeling to the teacher. The first student said that there were no leaves on the trees. It made him very disappointed. The second student said his eyes were full of light green. It made him feel hopeful. The third one disagreed. "What are you talking about? How pretty the trees were! The sweet smell of the beautiful flowers spread(传播) here and there." The last one shook his head. He only saw a lot of apples on the beautiful trees.

    The teacher smiled and told his students none of them were wrong. They each just saw one season. He continued, "The trees are not the same in different seasons. You can't judge (判断) a tree by only one season. Don't let the regret of one season destroy the beauty of the rest.

    Everything has different sides in our life. Don't hurry to make a conclusion(结论) before seeing the whole of it.

    The story of the fall of Troy is one of the oldest stories in history. It dates back to around 800 BC, to a poem written by a man called Homer. The poem is called The Iliad(《伊利亚待》). Ilium is the Greek name for Troy.

The story is a myth(神话), but many believe the city of Troy actually existed. Some people have thought it was in modern Turkey. Others have suggested it may have been in central Europe, northern Europe or even England.

    You could write a long book on all the paintings, music and stories about Achilles. His name is used for many things. Since 1744, about nine Royal Navy warships have been named after him, for example.

    A Trojan horse is a saying that now means something that seems friendly, but is actually a trick to hurt you. Some kinds of computer virus (病毒) are now called Trojans. An Achilles heel means a person's main weakness. The Achilles tendon(腱) is a medical name for part of your heel at the back