Long long time ago, the Jade Emperor, organized an animal races. He told all the animals that the first 12 animals to win could get a place in the Chinese Zodiac（十二生肖）, and have a year named after them.

The cat and the mouse both asked the ox to wake them up early on the day of the race. That day, the ox tried to wake them up, but without success. So the kind ox carried them on his back and started running when the race began. The mouse woke up just when the ox was going to cross the last river. He knew that he could never beat the cat. So he pushed the cat off the ox's back. When the ox reached the other side of the river, the mouse jumped off and ran to the finishing line, just before the ox.

So the 12-year cycle（循环）begins with the mouse. The ox comes after him. The tiger follows the ox. The rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig come after them. The cat didn't get a place in the Zodiac. That's why the cat hates the mouse and always wants to kill it.

For most owners, the thought of losing their beloved pets is unimaginable. Here are four posters of lost pets.

	LOST DOG Our beloved pet “Susie” has been missing for about a week from Rose Garden area. Susie is a large girl dog, white in color, with medium length hair. She was wearing a collar（颈圈）. Please contact：Ron Jones57644653 or 15047982463
	LOST BIRD Bambi ●Yellow and black parrot. ●Missing since Wednesday, December 23. ●Likes to sing “Our Beautiful World” song. If you see her, please call 47325891 or email. DennyHu@123.com.
	Name：Conrad Last Seen: my bedroom, three days ago. Conrad is a very friendly little spider. He likes to sit on your shoulder and play hide and seek（捉迷藏）. If you see him, do not scream. And please be careful not to squish （压扁）him. If he’s at your place, please contact me at 14607685250.
	LOST CAT Jerry, black and grey, male MISSING ONE MONTH! Wear a black collar. Not very friendly. Probably get into your house. If you see him, please feed some food and call Sam Chen. 1335784620 ＄20 REWARD

What sings? Birds sing. What else sings? People. What else? Whales!

For a long time no one knew that whales could sing. They knew that whales are the biggest of all animals. They knew that whales look like fish and whales breathe air like people. But no one had ever heard a whale sing.

Then a scientist heard whales singing underwater one day. He was studying whales in the Atlantic Ocean (大西洋) at that time. Then he made a recording of the whale song. Now everyone can hear the sound of whales singing.

Humpback whales (座头鲸) can sing. They are named for the big humps (驼峰) on their backs.

Humpback whales are the most playful (爱玩的) of all the whales. They jump out of the water. They swim on their backs. They dive like dolphins. Now the scientist has something new to study. He’s trying to find out why humpback whales sing. He thinks they may sing to tell each other where they are. But humpback whales are so playful, and maybe they sing just for fun.