In the field, there was a small animal called "wu shu"(the flying squirrel1).
It would say to everyone it met: "I have five skills: flying, walking, swimming, climbing trees, and digging holes in the ground."
Thereupon, its pals2 would laugh at it, saying: "Though you have learned these skills, you have mastered none of them. You can fly, but not high; you can swim, but not far; you can climb trees, but not to the treetop; you can dig holes in the ground, but not deep enough."
When the flying squirrel heard what its pals said, it ran away in anger.
Indeed, the flying squirrel had learned five skills, but when put to use, they were useless. How could they be called real skills.
There was a farmer in the Song Kingdom in ancient China. He worked in his field day after day. In good harvest years, he could only have enough food to eat and enough clothing to wear. If the field failed to produce enough crops, he had to go hungry. This farmer wanted to improve his life. But he was too lazy and too cowardly. He always dreamed of having unexpected fortune.
A miracle took place at last. One day, when he worked in the field, some people were hunting nearby. They shouted loudly one after another. Some little animals were running desperately. Suddenly, a hare dashed itself headlong against the stump of a dead tree in his field and died.
That day, he had a good meal.
From that day on, he no longer worked in his field. From morning till night, he stayed by that miraculous stump, waiting for another hare. Will the miracle happen again?
People often use the set phrase “staying by a stump waiting for more hares to come and dash themselves against it" to refer to persons dreaming to reap without sowing.
A mouse once took a bite out of a bull's tail as he lay dozing. The bull jumped up in a rage and, with his head low to the ground, chased the mouse right across the yard. The mouse was too quick for him, however, and slipped easily into a hole in the wall.
The bull charged the wall furiously again and again, but although he bruised his head and chipped his horns, the mouse stayed safely inside his hole. After a time the bull gave up and sank down to rest again.
As soon as the bull was asleep, the little mouse crept to the mouth of the hole, pattered across the yard, bit the bull again -- this time on the nose -- and rushed back to safety. As the bull roared helplessly the mouse squeaked:
"It's not always the big people who come off best. Sometimes the small ones win, you know."
A man once had four sons who never stopped quarrelling with one another. He was always telling them how much easier life would be if they worked together but they took absolutely no notice of him. One day he decided to show them what he meant.
He called all the sons together and put a tightly tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them.
"Can you break that ? " he asked the youngest son. The boy put his knee on the bundle but though he pressed and pulled with his arms he could not bend the wood. The father asked each son in turn to try to break the bundle, but none of them could do it .
Then he untied the string and scattered the sticks.
" Now try, " he said . The boys broke the sticks easily in their hands.
"Do you see what I mean ?" asked the father. "if only you stand together no one can hurt you . If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways, the first enemy you meet will be able to destroy you. "
Tina is a lovely girl. She has a lot of dolls. One of these dolls is very beautiful. She has long blond hair and wears a white dress. The little girl likes her very much. She called her “Sandy”. You would forget all the sad things and become happy when you see her.
Tina tried to teach Sandy to speak, but she failed. When she is free, Tina always made clothed for her. When she is unhappy or met with some difficulties, Tina talked to her, because they are close friends. What a lovely girl she is!