There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy son. The businessman wanted his son to realize the value of labor.

    One day, he told his son, "Today, I want you to earn something. If you fail, you won't have your meal tonight."

    The boy didn't want to find a job, so he asked his mother for help. She gave him a gold coin. In the evening, when the father asked his son what he had earned, the son showed him the gold coin. The father then asked him to throw it into the well (水井). The son did as he was told.

    The father guessed that the gold was from the boy's mother. The next day, he sent his wife to her parents' home and asked his son to earn something. Since no one helped him, the son had to go to the market to look for a job. A shopkeeper told him that he would pay him a coin if he carried heavy tools for him. The son accepted. As he returned home and gave the coin to his father, he was asked to throw it into the well. The boy cried, "Dad! My body is aching. I'm tired. How are you asking me to throw my hard-carned coin into a well?"

    The businessman smiled. He told his son that one feels pain only when the fruits of labor are wasted. The son realized the value of hard work. He promised not to be lazy any more.

Today is December 12th, 2023. It's a good day for1 in China. I'm glad to go to Wanda Plaza (广场)2 my family. First, we go to the3 . My brother needs a shirt. "4 do you want?" the saleswoman asks. "White," "We have really nice white5 . How about this one?" My brother thinks it's too6 , "Look at this one. It is big." says the saleswoman, "you can7 ". My brother8 it and he buys it. My father buys a9 of sports shoes in the next store. After that, we go to Walmart Supermarket. My mother buys some vegetables.10 ¥16.00. I buy a notebook11 my good friend, Tom. It's only (仅仅) ¥ 3.00. And we like eating apples, so we buy two boxes of apples. Finally (最后), we go back home happily and we have a12 day!

I was in my room, slowly getting ready to head to the theatre with the rest of my family.

I don't want to put on the show in the theatre that day. "Kirstie, come here!" Mum called from down the hall.

"What is it?"I called back and found my mum outside the bathroom, holding a wet book.

Mum gave the book a shake. "Henry's book was in the bathroom. Did you put it there?"

"Not on purpose," I said disinterestedly,"It was already on the corner, and it happened to fall in when I stepped out." Mum looked at

me angrily,"You could have picked it up. That would be the kind thing to do."

Mum never acted like this before. Being kind wasn't actually that hard. But after Henry and his dad moved in, everything felt different. As Henry walked ahead of us to the car, Mum took me aside.

"This is our corner of the world now, Kirstie,"she said. "Let's try to make it a good one. "

I nodded unwillingly.

The theatre was busy as usual. One play a year in the theatre used to be what Mum and I did together most excitedly. But now, with Henry here, it won't be special any more.

Soon, it was my turn. I forgot my anger at Henry when I went on the stage.

As we kids lined up on the stage, I realised how poorly I had tied(系) the drawstring on my skirt —my bow(蝴蝶结) suddenly came untied and my skirt began to drop — in front of hundreds of people!

It was not a dream! It was terribly real! People soon began laughing, and I could feel my face burning.

Then Henry, beside me, came to my aid! He tidied up my clothes, tying the drawstring with a beautiful knot (结). He made a joke about me"not"knowing knots, and most of the people laughed again! This time, the laughter felt OK!

At the end of the show, I found Henry and touched him on the shoulder. "Thanks!"

He smiled, "Knot a problem!"

I smiled guiltily (惭愧地 ). Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a new person in my corner of the world after all.

Mother's Day is always a fun time at my house every year. This year is no exception. My brother and I want our mom to feel 1 by giving her a day off from family chores. 

In the morning，I woke up before everyone else to hang up a poster that 2 "Happy Mother's Day". My dad also got up3 and helped set up a rose bouquet(玫瑰花束) in a vase. When my mom woke up，she read cards we laid out next to her bed with a big smile. While she was watching the morning news with my dad，it was time to 4 my cooking skills. I made some delicious food with my brother's help. My mom and I love board games，so after a short 5 around the neighborhood，we played all of her favorites. In my family，playing a fun board game turns into a big6 and can become very heated. One of us always becomes a sore loser after being beaten in the game. The afternoon games made all of us tired. A delicious takeout dinner from my mom's favorite restaurant 7 us. The festivities(庆祝活动)8 with ice­cream and more quality family time，while we were watching one of my mom's favorite movies from her teenage years. 

It was such a 9 day，and it was great to be able to show my mom how much we appreciate her and thank her for10 she does for our family. Mother's Day should be every day. 

The next day, Peter came, feeling very angry at the changes. Heidi was always busy with the strange new child. All summer long Heidi hadn't played with him. And today she was coming at last. But again, she would come with this stranger.

Then, Peter saw the wheelchair. He carefully looked around. Then he pushed it down the mountain. He felt a little worried and afraid so he ran away and hid himself in a bush.

Just then, Heidi came out of the house. Her grandfather and Clara came next. Not seeing the wheelchair, Heidi's grandfather decided to carry Clara to the top. As he was getting ready, he wondered why Peter was late.

To their surprise, when they arrived at the top, they saw Peter lying on the ground.

Grandfather put Clara down on the grassland and then went home. The three stayed there. Heidi remembered the place with many flowers. She wanted to take Clara there. She called Peter to help. Peter went to Clara unwillingly. Heidi asked him to help raise Clara from the ground on one side. Heidi helped on the other.

With the encouragement of Heidi, Clara tried a step and soon another. "Oh, Heidi,I can do it! Oh, I really can! Just look! I can take steps!" she said happily.

Heidi cried happily, "Oh, Clara, can you really? Can you walk? Now you can walk, Clara,"

Peter arrived home late that day. He saw many people talking around the wheelchair. What if they found out the truth? A policeman might arrive. They might take him away to prison. Peter's hair stood on end at this thought.

The next morning, Peter admitted his mistake. Clara's family forgave him. What Peter had done turned out to be the greatest good for Clara.