One day, little Mike’s mother went to the river to do some washing. Before she left, she said to him, “Mike, while I am away, stay near the door and watch it all the time!” She said this because she was afraid of the thieves.

Mike sat down beside the door. After an hour, one of his uncles came. He asked Mike, “Where is your mother?” “She has gone to the river to do some washing,” Mike answered. “Well,” said his uncle, “Now it is a quarter to two. Three hours later we are going to visit your family. Go and tell your mother. For I’m busy, I have to go now.”

After his uncle had gone away, Mike began to think: “Mother had asked me to watch the door all the time and my uncle told me to go and tell my mother. “What shall I do?” he thought and thought. Finally, he pulled down the door, put it on his back and went to the river with it.

Mary did not understand such sentence as “She is blue today.” “You are yellow.” “He has a green thumb.” “He has told a little white lie.” and so on. And she went to her teacher for help.

Mary: Mrs. Smith, there is a color in each of these sentences. What do they mean?

Mrs. Smith: In everyday English, Mary, blue sometimes means sad. Yellow means afraid. A person with a green thumb grows plants very well. And a white lie is not a bad one.

Mary: Would you give me an example for “a white lie”?

Mrs. Smith: Certainly. Now I give you some cakes. In fact, you don’t like it. What will you say?

Mary: I will say “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”

Mrs. Smith: That’s a white lie.

Mary: Oh, I see. Thank you very much.