The man walked down the trail on a cold, gray day. Pure white snow and ice covered the Earth. He was wearing heavy clothes and fur boots. But he still felt cold and uncomfortable.

The man was on his way to a camp near Henderson Creek. His friends were already there. He expected to reach Henderson Creek by six o’clock that evening. His friends would have a fire and hot food ready for him.

The man continued to walk down the trail. He came to a frozen stream called Indian Creek. He began to walk on the snow-covered ice. It was a trail that would lead him straight to Henderson Creek and his friends.

As he walked, he looked carefully at the ice in front of him. Once, he stopped suddenly, and then walked around a part of the frozen stream. He saw that an underground spring flowed under the ice at that spot. It made the ice thin. If he stepped there, he might break through the ice into a pool of water. To get his boots wet in such cold weather might kill him. His feet would turn to ice quickly. He could freeze to death.

At about twelve o’clock, the man decided to stop to eat his lunch. He took off the glove on his right hand. He opened his jacket and shirt, and pulled out his bread and meat. This took less than twenty seconds. Yet, his fingers began to freeze.

He hit his hand against his leg several times until he felt a sharp pain. Then he quickly put his glove on his hand. He made a fire, beginning with small pieces of wood and adding larger ones. He sat on a snow-covered log and ate his lunch. He enjoyed the warm fire for a few minutes. Then he stood up and started walking on the frozen stream again.

A half hour later, it happened. At a place where the snow seemed very solid, the ice broke. The man’s feet sank into the water. It was not deep, but his legs got wet to the knees. The man was angry.

Paragraph 1 He would have to build a fire now to dry his clothes and boots.

Paragraph 2 Suddenly, without warning, a heavy mass of snow dropped down.

It is hard not to thirst for victory in all your efforts when the world seems so competitive, especially if you’re a boy growing up with those values. A boy grew up in a similar environment where winning was all that was valued, and he longed to succeed. The boy was good at running, so he called everyone in the nearby villages for a race. A large group of people from around came to see this exciting event!

The boy had been training hard for this race. He ran among the strongest boys from around the villages, and it looked like heat on a finish line, but the young boy came out victorious! The crowd went wild with joy as they cheerfully waved (挥舞) flags praising him. The boy loved the attention. It made him feel happy and vital (生气勃勃的).

But among the crowd was a wise older man who did not seem as impressed with the boy’s fleets (舰队) as the rest. Just as the boy thought all the races for the day were over, the old man shouted from the crowd, “There is one more race left, the most important one.” The boy was firstly surprised by the additional race, but he was confident he could win any race.

The old man brought two new competitors for the boy, a blind man and a weak old lady. “I can easily win them,” the boy said. When the boy crossed the finish line, the blind man was still at the start, and the old lady had just started to move. The boy got his victory but he noticed that the crowd wasn’t cheering. The boy was shocked. So, he asked the old man what had happened. The old man said, “Let’s start the race again, but all three of you finish together this time.”

The boy raced again.

The wise old man put his hands around the boy’s shoulders.

Rain is pouring down today, which brings back sweet memories of our dog, Bambi. She-joined our family at the age of four months. Like all puppies, she was full of energy and wonder. Our boys described excitedly that she looked just like the young deer, Bambi, in the movie they had watched recently. The name fitted her personality perfectly.

Bambi also had all the fine physical characteristics of the German Shepherd. She was strong, yet gentle and shy. We were a young family with two growing, energetic boys, so she fitted right in with our lifestyle. Bambi loved the boys. She would play with them until they were completely tired.

On one occasion, I had called a repairman to come to our home to fix the refrigerator. I was at work, and the boys were home with the babysitter. I told the repairman by phone that we had a dog, but it would be safe to enter the house because the babysitter would be there to meet him. However, when the repairman arrived, the babysitter and boys went outside. As he went close to our front door, Bambi was outside and she barked at him while she guarded the door. As long as the man attempted to move, Bambi would jump up and bark more fiercely (凶猛地). This man had never seen such a fierce dog before and was frightened too much. He had no idea whether to go away or scream for help.