The cobbler（鞋匠）passed his time singing from morning till night. He was poor but satisfied with his life.

His neighbour was a successful banker and had a lot of money. However, the banker had sleep problems; he couldn’t have a good sleep at night. One day, when by chance he fell into sleep at dawn, the cobbler awoke him by his song.

So the banker went to the cobbler.

“How much a year do you earn, my friend?” asked the banker.

The cobbler said, “I never thought about that. I just sing and make shoes every day.”

“Then how much a day do you earn?”

“It depends. Sometimes I earn much, and sometimes little. I will be satisfied if I can earn enough money for meals.”

The banker smiled. “Here are some gold coins for you if you don’t sing your songs any more. You needn’t worry about money from now on. Put them in a safe place and use them when needed.” The cobbler thanked the banker and hid the coins in a corner of his house.

From then on the cobbler didn’t sing anymore. He was worried about the coins all the time. When he heard some noise at night, he would get up to see if the coins were still there. He couldn’t sleep well, and he became unhappy.

After a week, the cobbler took the coins back to the banker. “I can’t keep the coins anymore,” he said. “Money may bring food, but it can’t bring happiness.”

From then on, the cobbler began singing again.

One day Tom bought a donkey (驴子) in the market, but while he was taking it home, two thieves ________ him. One of them took the rope from the donkey’s neck and tied it ________ his friend’s neck. Then he went away with the donkey.

When Tom got home he turned and saw the young man. He was very surprised. “________ is my donkey?” he said angrily.

“I am very sorry”, said the thief, “but once I said some very bad things to my mother, and she changed me into a donkey. But because a good man ________ me, I am now a man again. Thank you.”

Tom untied the man and said, “Go! And never say bad things to your mother again!”

The next day, Tom saw the ________ donkey in the market again. The other thief was selling it. Tom went to it and said into his ear, “Young man, some people will never ______.”

Mrs. Brown had a good friend named Alice. Mrs. Brown asked Alice to come and have dinner with her and her husband that evening. At twenty to six, Mr. Brown came back from work. He found his wife seemed very worried. “What’s the matter with you, dear?” he asked. “I’ve made a big mistake, my dear,” she said, “I’ve asked Alice to come and have dinner with us this evening.” “That’s a good idea and there’s nothing to worry about,” Mr. Brown said. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time. I’m sure we’ll have a good evening together.” “But I’ve just found out that there’s not enough food in the fridge. I asked you to get some meat on your way home three days ago but you forgot.” “Oh, my dear!” said Mr. Brown. He ran out of the house and rushed to his car. There he found a piece of meat. It had been in the car for three days.