A woman has two water buckets (桶). One of the buckets has a hole in it, while the other bucket is nicer ________ can hold water without (没有) getting out.

Every day, during the long walk from the river to her ________, the woman always has one and a half buckets of water. This ________ every day for about two years. The nice bucket is very happy with itself. But the bucket ________ the hole in it is not happy.

One day, it says to the woman, “I feel ________ because this hole in my side makes water get out all the way to your house.”       

The old woman smiles and says, “Do you ________ that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other bucket’s side?”

“That’s because I plant flowers on ________ side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. I use these beautiful ________ to decorate (装饰) my house for two years. Without you, my house would not be ________ colorful and beautiful.”

Just like the bucket, we all have our own problems. But these things can sometimes ________ our lives more interesting and meaningful. That’s what we should learn from the story!

One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas when they saw a horseshoe on the ground. The father said to his son, “Look at the horseshoe on the ground. Go and_______the horseshoe and put it in your bag, my son. ” But Thomas said, “If I do so, it will waste my time. ” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they________a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and________some strawberries with the money.

The father and the son went on walking. The sun was high up in the________. They soon drank up all their water and there was not a house or even a tree for them to have a rest. Thomas felt________thirsty to walk on. At that time, his father gave him a strawberry and he________ate it. After a while, his father gave him another strawberry and once again, his son got it quickly and put it in his mouth.

And so they_______walking. The old farmer gave strawberries and the son ate them. When Thomas had eaten up all the strawberries, his father said to him, “My dear son, if you picked up that________, you would have your own strawberries to eat. Always remember the________: if you don’t worry about the little things, you will find it difficult to do the________things. ”

We are always kind to strangers but impolite to our family members.

Yesterday on my way to work in the street, I walked into a ________ as he passed by. “Oh, excuse me.” I said ________. He replied with a smile and said, “Please excuse me, too. I wasn’t watching out for you.” We apologized(道歉) to each other and went our own ways.

In the evening, when I was cooking, my daughter was standing too close to me. When I turned to ________ for some sugar, I nearly knocked her over. “Don’t get in the way of my cooking. Move away!” I shouted loudly. She ________ quickly. I didn’t think I had to apologize to her.

While I was watching TV that evening, my husband said to me, “ ________ a problem with a stranger, you were polite, but with a daughter you love, you were unkind. Your daughter brought you a ________ while you were cooking in the kitchen. Have you seen the tears in her eyes? She cried in her room for half an hour.”

I quickly went into the kitchen and found some beautiful flowers behind the door. How sorry I felt! Then I rushed into my daughter’s room and gave her a ________ and said, “Dear, I am so sorry. I didn’t notice that the flowers that you picked are for me.” She answered, “This afternoon I found them ________ the tree. I picked them ________ I knew you’d like them, especially the blue ones.” I tearfully replied, “My dear, I really regret shouting at you today.” “It’s OK. I love you anyway.” she said as she kissed me and said good night to me.

If we can be polite to strangers, why can’t we be kind to ________ we love?