Even though I just had lunch not long ago, I was felling hungry again. I went to the kitchen to look for something to eat. That was when I discovered the pudding in the fridge. It was made from milk, sugar, eggs and fruits, and it looked so yummy. I noticed that there was only one left.

    I was putting the pudding on a plate when my brother came into the kitchen. He found the pudding and asked for it. “It's mine! I was the only one who found it!” I shouted. “You are my elder brother, you should give it to me!” said he. Then he started pulling the plate towards himself and I did the same.

    Suddenly, the plate moved to one side and the pudding slipped (滑动) out of the plate. It landed on the floor and turned into a yellow mess. My brother and I both looked at each other, feeling amazed and disappointed at the same time. It was such a waste!

    To my surprise, Ollie, our pet dog, walked over to the mess on the floor. It began to lap up the pudding happily, within minutes, the mess on the floor was gone. Ollie licked (舔) its lips when it was done.

    After watching Ollie finishing the whole pudding by itself, we realized      . If both of us had shared the pudding, we would both have got to eat half of it. It was because of our greed (贪婪) that we ended up with nothing. That day, my brother and I learnt a good lesson.

    One day, while I was walking on the street, I heard the piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people. I stopped and saw a young lady sitting at a piano.

    She was singing songs about love. The way she was singing made me a little comfortable. I stood there watching her playing on such a crowded New York square. I thought that she must be brave enough to perform in front of so many people.

    She noticed me. I walked over and told her how good her music sounded. “Thank you.” she said.

    “I have been going through a hard time recently, but you've made me hopeful again.” I said to her.

    “I'm glad that I could help,” she replied, “Why are you so sad?”

    “Well, my mom has lost her job, and I'm not sure what to do …”

    “Did you notice the way you were walking? Your head was down.” she said. “Don't be upset, because opportunity (机遇) comes in different ways and if your head is down, you might not see it. You should smile more… lift your head up.”

    I looked at her, surprised at how she was encouraging (鼓励) me. “Why are you playing the piano here?” I asked her with a smile.

    She explained that she saw a lot of unhappy people in the world and she tried to cheer them up by playing music.

    I smiled a little wilder, realizing that no difficulties could stop me from going on.

C

    John was traveling around the country in the town. One evening he was driving along a road and looking for the Sun Hotel. When he saw an old man at the side of the road, he stopped his car and said to the old man,“I want to go to the Sun Hotel. Do you know where it is?”

    “Yes,” the old man answered,“I'll show you the way.”

    He got into the car, and they drove for about twelve miles. When they came to a small house, the old man said,“Stop here.”

    John stopped and looked at the house and said,“But this isn't a hotel.”

    “No,” the old man answered,“this is my house. And now I'll show you the way to the Sun Hotel. Turn around and go back nine miles, then you'll see the Sun Hotel on the left.”

    An old man was going home late one night with his horse and cart after a day's hard work. When he was not far away from his house, the light on the cart went out. He tried but could not repair it. He was near his home, and so he went along the road without a light. When a policeman saw this, he stopped the old man.

    "Where is your light?" asked the policeman. "No man may take a cart along the road at night without a light. You know that. You have broken the law." "I had a light, but it has just gone out," said the old man.

    "I don't believe that story. What's your name and where do you live?" asked the policeman. "Please don't write down my name," said the old man. "My home is just there. You can see it from here. I had a light nearly the whole way."

    "You came all the way without a light. What's your name?"

    The old man quickly took the policeman's hand and put it down on the top of the light. The light was still hot and burnt the policeman's hand. The policeman jumped and he was very angry. "Now, what do you think?" said the old man. "Did I come all the way without a light?"