For a long time, we had a fat fluffy(毛茸茸的), black, stray cat in our neighborhood. Sometimes I saw her sitting on my porch. Sometimes I saw her hiding under my car. Sometimes she even sneaked(潜行) under my house. Each time I walked close to her, however, she ran away. Finally, I gave up and decided to give her some independence.

Recently, though, something strange happened. This independent stray cat decided to adopt(接纳) my daughter, Beth. Each time Beth walks over to my house from her place up the road, she is welcomed by the stray cat. The cat walks between her legs, purrs and meows until she gets petted.

It happened day after day until this morning when Beth left her a bowl of cat food. I guess that ended the cat’s straying life because Beth even started calling the cat “Alice”. I doubt Alice will ever want to become an indoor cat but she seems to have made Beth her forever friend. Beth has the kindness and love that draws all kinds of animals to her from dogs, to cats, to birds.

Isn’t it amazing how love works its way into our hearts and lives? We are minding our own business and suddenly we have a new pet, or a new friend, or find a moment to share in an act of kindness. Let your love pass onto the lives of others, because to love is to truly live and to live is to truly love.

Animals are our good friends. Some are active and others are quiet. But do you know anything about the clever animals in the world? Just have a look!

Kelly is an African elephant. Now she is 19 years old. She lives in a zoo. Kelly has produced more than 100 paintings since last year. She has made over $3, 500 for the zoo. Newspaper reporters wrote about Kelly, and then people went to buy her pictures.

Nana is a clever black and white dog in England. She can do many things just like a human. She can walk on two legs and close the door. Also, she is able to get things for her master, such as newspapers and the TV remote control (遥控器). What’s more, when she sleeps, she can use her quilt very well. No games are difficult for her!

Koko is a 44-year-old chimpanzee (黑猩猩). He has lived with humans for decades and can “talk” to humans with his hands. He can do simple gesture (手势) and that helps people to understand him.

Do you know something about dolphins? Dolphins live in the ocean and there are more than thirty different kinds of these beautiful animals. Some of them live in small groups of just a few members. Others live in very large groups.

Dolphins use loud noises to communicate(交流) with each other. As for food, dolphins feed on small fish and other small sea animals. They can swim very fast-up to 40 kilometers per hour.

Dolphins enjoy being with people. They like to make friends with people. Dolphins also help swimmers or sailors(海员) in trouble. There are many stories about this. Dolphins are very clever. You can see them in some parks where they play games with visitors. Some can even play ping- pong，Dolphins are so lovely, but some of them live in bad living conditions now.

They can't get enough food, so they are becoming fewer and fewer in number. Even worse, some people kill them for money. Therefore(因此), we should take actions to protect the environment and our friend dolphins!