One day I went for a walk in the forest with my parents. We walked down a small road after lunch. I saw a big blue bird.

    "Look!" I called out.

    Mum and Dad didn't hear me and walked on.

    The bird was beautiful, I followed it and wanted to catch it.

    Oops! I fell over!

……

    The sky (天空) looked dark. "Was I asleep?" I thought. I knew I fell over just now. I looked around and saw a man wearing a big blue jacket.

    "Your mum and dad called Search and Rescue for help, because they couldn't find you," said the man.

    "What?" I was surprised to hear that.

    "You passed out (昏迷)," the man said. "And you looked injured."

    Oh, yes, my ankle (脚踝) looked big and I couldn't walk.

    "Don't worry. The ambulance (救护车) will arrive soon," said the man.

    "How did you find me?" I asked.

    "We let Goldie smell (闻) your jacket. Goldie followed your smell and found you," he said. Then I saw a big dog.

    The ambulance team found us soon. They took me to the ambulance. Goldie came with us.

    We got to the hospital quickly. Mum and Dad were waiting there. I had an X-ray (X光检查) of my ankle. Luckily, it wasn't broken, but I needed to stay in bed for days.

    Mum and Dad thanked everyone. And we thanked Goldie too!

    My holiday with grandma and grandpa is great! They lived with us in New York, but they moved to Ariz when I was five. Dad usually visits them. He is sending me to stay with them for a two-week holiday.

    This is my first time to travel by myself. On the plane, I study the picture from grandma. It's a picture of an old village and the village is on top of a tall hill. It looks high, and I am not sure I can climb so high.

    Grandpa meets me at the airport. When we drive away from the city, I look at the beauty of the place new to me. Soon we get to my grandparents' village. We are so high up, I feel like a bird!

    Grandma is waiting for us at the door of a building. "Joe, this is called a „pueblo'. The buildings are made from stones（石头）and earth（泥土）," she says.

    Grandma and grandpa's rooms feel cool after standing under the hot sun. Grandma says that the stones keep the rooms cool. After dinner we take a walk outside.

    I really like meeting the people here. One man helps me make an earth vase（花瓶）for Mom.

    The children ask me to their ball games. Sometimes I help grandpa and his friends work on the farm.

    I feel I am part of a big family in our village in the sky. It is hard to leave my grandparents when my two weeks are over.

    Both of Omar's parents liked writing poetry. His father taught poetry in a college. Although his mother worked at a bank, she wrote poetry when she was free. His parents spent one evening each week on poetry readings. Most readings were at a small coffee shop.

    Omar loved going to the coffee shop with his parents. The nice smell of coffee and the beautiful voice of reading blew him away. One woman came to the coffee shop every week. People called her Mrs Abboud. She never read, but she always had a bright smile for everyone, and she would clap(鼓掌) loudly after each reading.

    Later, Omar began writing his own poetry. He did quite well. Mrs Francis, Omar's English teacher, advised him to go to a poetry competition. At first Omar was excited. However, when he read the competition rules, he became worried. The competition was an oral (口头的) reading. Omar was sure that he could write good poetry, but he was afraid of reading in front of others. "We'll be very happy to see you in the competition," his father said. And Omar knew that he had to go through with it somehow.

    On the day of the competition, he chose his favourite poem and put on his best clothes. When it was his turn, something wonderful happened! Mrs Abboud was sitting next to his parents. He saw her warm smile. He could almost smell the coffee at the small coffee shop. Now it was easy for him to read. When Omar finished, everyone clapped loudly. Omar felt great joy in his heart.

    "This one's for you," Sergeat(警官)Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out of a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building.

    "Good morning, Madam," I said.

    "Good morning," she said pleasantly." You're new, aren't you?"

    "Yes, Madam."

    "It's about that man who's been annoying me," she said." I've been here about him before."

    "Could I have your name and address, please?"

    "Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?"

    "What's he done, Miss Fraser?"

    "Done? He's thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped."

    "Where does he live?"

    "Next door, Number 41," she said.

    "I'll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser."

    "I would be most grateful."  With that she left.

    Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. No. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp(流浪者). Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser's threatening police action. I decided to visit her.

    I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately." Ah!" she said gladly." You're just in time for coffee." I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave.

    Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned." Nick, did you kick(踢出) Jackson, out of that house?"

    "Jackson" I cried." Who is he?"

    "There is no Jackson," he said." Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That's what we are here for, isn't it to satisfy the public?"

    It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn't go back home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. "I'll send Mom some roses (玫瑰)."

    While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The assistant (店员) was trying to tell him roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations (康乃馨).

    "No, I have to have red roses." He said. "My mom was badly ill last year and I didn't get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, and it has to be roses, because roses are her favorite."

    After hearing it, John said he would pay the rest (剩余)of the money for the young man. Moved (感动) by both of them, the assistant said, "Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you." Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air and ran out of the shop. It was well worth (值得) twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the assistant to send them to his mother.

    When he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (坟墓). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, "Mom, oh, Mom, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her."

    Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.