Two seeds (种子) lay in the soil (土壤).

The first seed said, “I want to grow to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the beauty of the fresh dew (露水) on my flowers in the morning! I will make friends with other plants, and we can grow together.” So she grew. Then she saw that the other seed did nothing. She asked, “ ① ”

The other seed said, “I am afraid. You know first I should go into the ground below, but I don’t know what I’ll meet in the dark. Second, before I open my flowers, I should push my way through the hard soil above me to be a strong plant, but I might hurt. At last, when I open my flowers, a child might pull me out of the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it’s safe.”

The first seed didn’t know what to say. The second seed sat there still. A big hen was walking nearby and looking for food. She found the second seed and ate it.

Like this seed, if we don’t try our best to grow, life may give us a lesson.

Once upon a time, many feelings lived on an island, including Happiness, Sadness and Love. One day the feelings were told that the island would sink, so they all made boats and left except Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out(坚持) until the last moment. When the island had almost disappeared into the water, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a big boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity(虚荣心)who was also passing by in a beautiful ship. “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by, so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an old man. Love was so thankful and happy and even forgot to ask the old man where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the old man walked away.

Love asked Knowledge, another old man, “Who helped me?”

“It was Time,” Knowledge answered.

“Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?”

Knowledge smiled and answered, “Because only Time is able to understand how valuable Love is.”

Long ago, people lived a happy life under the rule of a king. Once, the king decided to visit places far away on foot to meet and communicate with his people. People of these places were very happy to see and talk with the king. They were proud that their king had a kind heart.

After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy with his journey. However, he had one regret.

He couldn’t stand the pain in his feet because it was his first trip to walk such a long journey. He complained (抱怨) to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and that they were very stony. He could not stand the pain. He said that he was very worried about the people who had to walk along those roads because it would be painful for them, too!

Considering all this, he ordered his ministers to cover the roads in the whole country with leather (皮革) so that the people of his kingdom can walk comfortably.

The king’s ministers were puzzled to hear his order as it would mean that thousands of cows would have to be killed in order to get enough leather. And it would cost too much money.

Finally, a wise minister came to the king and said that he had another idea. The king asked what it was. The minister said, “Instead of covering the roads with leather, why don’t you just have a piece of leather cut in proper shapes to cover your feet?”

The king was very surprised by his advice and spoke highly of the minister. He ordered a pair of leather shoes for himself and asked all his countrymen also to wear shoes.