A king had three sons whom he loved equally well， and he did not know which of them to appoint as king following his own death.

When the time came for him to die he called them to his bed and said， “Dear children， I have thought of something that I will reveal to you. The one of you is the laziest shall become king after me.”

The oldest one said， “Father， then the kingdom belongs to me， for I am so lazy that whenever I lie down to sleep， and a drop falls into my eyes， I will not even close them so that I can fall asleep.”

The second one said， “Father， the kingdom belongs to me， for I am so lazy that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself， I would rather let my heels burn up than to pull my legs back.”

The third one said， “Father， the kingdom is mine， for I am so lazy that if I were going to be hanged and already had the rope around my neck， and someone put into my hand a sharp knife with which to cut the rope， I would let myself be hanged rather than to lift my hand up to the rope.”

在一个遥远的地方，有一个国王，他有三个儿子，对每一个儿子他都非常喜爱，他不知道自己死后应该把王位传给他们三个中的哪一个。所以，当他快要死的时候，就把他们叫到身边说：“亲爱的孩子们，在我死后，你们三个中谁最懒，谁就继承我的王位。”老大说：“既然这样，这王位就是我的，因为我是最懒的儿子，当我躺下睡觉时，有任何东西落到我的眼睛里，我也懒得去擦掉，即使不能把眼睛闭上，我仍然会继续睡觉。”二儿子说：“爸爸，王位应该传给我，因为我是最懒的儿子。当我坐在火边取暖的时候，就是火燃到我的脚趾，我也懒得把腿收回来。”第三个儿子说：“爸爸，这王位是我的，因为我是你最懒的儿子，如果我就要被吊起来，绳子已经套在了脖子上，有人把一把锋利的小刀塞在我手里，要我切断绳子，我宁愿被吊起来也懒得抬起手把绳子割断。”

我的爱好(My hobby)

I am Cendy. I am in Nanhai Experimental Primary School. I am in Class 9, Grade 4. I am tall and thin. I live in Dali. I have many good friends. I often play with them.

I have many hobbies, riding a bike, drawing pictures and reading books. But I like to read books the best. Because of reading books is good for my study. I also like riding bikes. Because of it does a lot of good to my body.

What’s your hobby? Can you tell me?

我叫Cendy。我在南海实验小学4年级9班。我又高又瘦。我住在大理。我有很多好朋友。我经常和他们一起玩。

我有很多爱好，骑自行车，画画和看书。但我最喜欢看书。因为看书对我的学习有好处。我也喜欢骑自行车。因为它对我的身体有好处。

你的爱好是什么?你能告诉我吗?

Three Good Friends

One day, a monkey rides his bike near the river. This time he sees a lion under a tree. The lion runs at him. He is afraid and falls into the river. He can’t swim. He shouts. The rabbit hears him. He jumps into the river. The rabbit swims to the monkey, but he can’t help him. Luckily, an elephant comes along. He is very strong. He helps the rabbit and monkey. Three friends are very happy. They go to the elephant’s home. Then, three of them become good friends.

三个好朋友

一天， 一只猴子在河边骑车。这时他看见树下有一只狮子，狮子向他跑来。他非常的害怕，掉进河里。他不会游泳，大叫起来。兔子听见了，跳进水里，但他却没有办法救猴子。幸运的是，一只大象过来了。大象非常强壮，救出了兔子和猴子。他们来到大象的家，在那里吃了一顿大餐。从此他们成了好朋友。

The Old Man and the Old Cat

An old man has a cat. The cat is very old, too. He runs very quickly. And his teeth are bad. One evening, the old cat sees a little mouse. He catches it, but he can’t eat it because his teeth are not strong enough. The mouse runs away.

The old man is very angry. He beats his cat. He says: “You are a fool cat. I will punish you!” the cat is very sad. He thinks：“When I was young, I worked hard for you. Now you don’t like me because I’m too old to work. You should know you are old, too.”

老人和老猫

一个年迈的老人养一只猫。这只猫也非常老了。她跑得很快，但是牙齿很糟糕。一天王还是那个，这只老猫看见一只小老鼠。它抓住了小老鼠，但是它却吃不了它，因为它的牙齿不够锋利了。这只小老鼠逃跑了。老人很生气，他打了小猫，并且对它说：“你这只蠢猫!我要惩罚你!”猫非常伤心，它想：“在我还年轻的时候，我为你努力工作。现在你却因为我太老了不能工作而不喜欢我。你应该知道你也老了。”

Spring in the Green Season

Spring is coming. Spring is the first season of the year. In China, spring comes in February. It is still cold, but it is getting warmer and warmer. The days get longer and longer. The leaves on the trees begin to turn green. Then they come up green leaves in the spring wind on the ground. Spring is also sowing time season.

春天来了，春天是每年的第一个季节。在中国，春天二月来临，那时候还是很冷，但是会运来月暖和，白昼悦来越长。树上的叶子开始变绿，沐浴着大地春风长出了嫩芽。春天也播种的季节。

Story 4 Look for a Friend

Sam is a little fish. He lives in the sea. He is very lonely. He wants to have a friend. The friend looks like him. Sam sees an ink fish. The ink fish has eight legs. He doesn’t look like Sam. So Sam goes away. Sam meets a shark. He wants to say hello to the shark. The shark opens his big mouth. Sam runs away quickly. Sam is tired and hungry. He wants to have a rest. Then he sees a round fish. She says to him. “Hello! Would you like to be my friend?” Sam answers: “Of course! But you are sound. I am flat.” The round fish days: “But we are both fishes.”

Sam thinks and says, “You are right. Let’s be friends.” They become good friends.

找朋友

塞姆是一条小鱼，他在海里。他生在海里。他很孤独，想要找一个朋友，那个朋友看起来要想他。 塞姆看见一条墨鱼。墨鱼有8条腿，看上去不像塞姆。因此塞姆游走了。塞姆遇见一条鲨鱼。他想跟鲨鱼问好。鲨鱼张开大嘴，塞姆有迅速地逃走了。塞姆又累又饿，他要休息一会儿。这时他看见一条圆鱼，圆鱼对他说：“你好!你愿意做我的朋友吗?”塞姆回答：“好哇!可你是圆形的，我是扁的。”圆鱼说：“但是我们俩都是鱼啊!”塞姆思考后说：“你讲得对，让我们做朋友吧。”他们就成为好朋友了。