A long time ago, a young prince had a pet lion. They enjoyed spending time together. But the prince didn’t let the lion out of the cage. This made the lion feel ______ . “Why can’t I get out of the cage? I’m his ______ . ”

Next to the lion’s cage lived a wolf. He hated the lion and the prince because he couldn’t have fun with them. One day, the wolf said to the lion, “If you are the friend of this prince, why does he ______ you in a cage just like me?”

When the lion was going to answer, the wolf cut him off and said, “Because of your big teeth.” Hearing their talk, the prince laughed and said, “No, I don’t believe the lion will ______ me. I won’t let him out, because I’m afraid he will leave me.”

In a second a ______ came to the wolf’s mind. He replied, “Oh, you’re wrong, young prince! We feel safe in our cages. We’d never leave. Open my cage and I’ll show you.” As soon as the young prince opened the cage, the wolf jumped on him with his big teeth. ______ , the lion rushed out of his cage onto the wolf. The wolf soon ______ , and could never be found again.

The young prince was so thankful. But he was still ______ , “Lion, how did you get out?” The lion replied, “My prince, my cage is never locked. I have always stayed here because we are friends.”

From that day on, the prince kept the cage open. The lion went in or out ______ . The prince also learned a valuable lesson: A true friendship means always ______ your friends any time.

Ellie Makes the Team

Ellie was an excellent gymnast (体操运动员). She could do the gymnastic moves (动作) very beautifully. But the problem was that she knew it. When she tried out for the gymnastics team, she put on a _________ show. The other girls told her she was great. “See if you can do that!” Ellie said. The coach shook his head, said nothing and thought hard.

The next week, when the list of the team members was posted, Ellie’s name wasn’t on it. She turned to the _________ standing around her. “I’m better than all of you!” she shouted _________. “It’s unfair (不公平的)!”

She went to see the coach. He said, “You’re good at gymnastics, but your attitude (态度) is terrible.”

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked. “I know I am the best. Just look at my show!”

“Making the gymnastics team isn’t just about gymnastics,” the coach said. “It’s also about being on a team. You can’t make the team if you don’t notice how much everyone does for the _________, or encourage them to do it.”

Ellie did not think about what the coach said. She even hoped the team would _________ that year and then the coach would feel sorry for not choosing her.

But Ellie still practiced at the gym every day, carefully staying out of the team’s way. At first she felt very happy to see the girls on the team training with difficulty. But then she started to _________ them. One day, after watching Kim fall off the uneven parallel bars (高低杠) again and again, Ellie came to her, and told her what she should do. Kim accepted Ellie’s suggestion, and did much better. Ellie felt very _________. She didn’t notice the coach looking on from across the room.

Over the next few weeks, Ellie tried to help the other girls. The team _________ each time they had a match, and they even won once!

The following year, Ellie tried out for the gymnastics team again. This time, her name was on the list. She knew that her _________ of becoming a better team player was important for her success.

I sat down to read under an old tree in the park. I felt my life was ________. I didn’t take an interest in anything. I thought that my whole world was dark.

A young boy ran up to me, out of breath. He stood right before me and said ________, “Look what I found.” In his hand was a flower and what a poor sight! The flower was dry and dead. I gave him a small smile and then turned my eyes away so that he could take his ________ flower and go off to play. I didn’t want to ________ with him at all.

However, he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his nose and said happily, “It smells sweet and it’s beautiful, too. That’s why I ________ it. Here, it’s for you.” The flower before me was dead. But I knew I must ________ it, or he might never leave. So I took the flower and replied, “This is just what I want, thank you.” Just then, for the first time I noticed that the boy could not see — he was blind.

Tears came down my face as I ________ him for picking the best one. “You’re welcome,” he smiled and then he ran off to play. I sat there and wondered how he was able to learn about my ________.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see the problem was not with the world — the problem was me. And for all those years I myself had been ________. In fact I never found there is always something beautiful around me in life. I decided to see the ________ in life, and enjoy every second of my life. And then I held that dry flower up to my nose and breathed in the smell of a beautiful rose.