Mom was cooking in the kitchen. She could hear the girls arguing in the living room. It was the third time this week that the sisters had been arguing over nothing. A few minutes later, Maria rushed into her bedroom angrily and closed the door heavily.

“Come to the kitchen, young lady,” Mom firmly （坚定地） said to Maria in her best mother tone （语气） of voice.

Maria walked into the kitchen and shouted, “I can’t stand living with Felicia another minute. I don’t ever want to talk to her again!”

Mom called out, “Felicia, come to the kitchen right now.”

While Felicia was on her way, Mom put two chairs opposite each other but very close together.

“Maria, you sit here and Felicia you sit there.” The girls sat face to face, with their knees almost touching. “Now you look each other in the eye for five minutes,” Mom ordered.

At first the girls moved their bodies from side to side. Mom said firmly, “You must stay staring at each other for five minutes. Each minute you don’t make eye contact （眼神交流） means another minute sitting in the chairs. ” They both wanted out, so they had to sit there and look at each other.

Felicia looked at Maria’s pouting （噘嘴的） face while Maria looked at Felicia’s angry face. They each thought the other one looked ridiculous （可笑的）. In fact, they were being ridiculous to fight and be mad at each other over nothing.

Soon Maria couldn’t stand it any longer and began giggling （咯咯地笑） and so did Felicia. They giggled and laughed.

Mom wisely didn’t say anything except, “Okay girls, you can go now.”

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A little stream (小溪) ran down from a mountain far away through many villages and forests, until she reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through so many difficulties, I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But as she started her journey, she found herself slowly disappearing into the sand. After many tries, she still failed. “Maybe I can’t reach the ocean in the end,” she said sadly to herself.

At this time, a deep voice came, “If the wind can cross the desert, so can a stream.” It was the voice of the desert. But the little stream replied, “That’s because the wind can fly, but I cannot.” “That’s because you can’t give up what you are. If you like to do it, and let yourself evaporate (蒸发) into the wind, it can take you across, and you can reach the ocean.” said the desert.

“Give up what I am now and disappear into the wind? No! No!” The little stream could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before.

“The wind can carry the vapor (蒸气) across the desert and let it leave as rain. The rain will form a stream again to continue its journey.” explained the desert.

“And whether you’re a stream or vapor, your nature never changes.” continued the desert. Hearing this, the little stream rushed into the wind, which carried her to the ocean.

Our life is like the experience of the little stream. If you want to overcome the difficulties, you should also change the way you used to be.

Once upon a time there lived an old man. He had three sons. One day, he called them together and said, "Sons, I will die soon. To my oldest son I give half my camels, to my second, one-third(三分之一), and to my youngest, one-ninth (九分之一)." Soon after that he died.

Now, the old man had seventeen camels, and the three brothers didn’t know how to do as their father said. They thought a long time about the problem, and it seemed that they must either kill some of the camels and cut them into pieces, or disobey their father. At last they went to their father’s old friend and asked for his advice. As soon as he heard their story, he said, "I will help you. I was a good friend of your father’s. I am old. I have only one camel, but take it-it is yours."

The three sons thanked the old man and took his camel. Now they found it was easy to do as their father wished, The oldest took half- that was nine camels; the second took one-third, that was six; and the youngest took one-ninth, that was two.

After each had got his camels, they found that there was still a camel there. So, to show their thanks to their father’s friend, they gave the camel back to him.