1 . A HALF-EMPTY BASKET

Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting."I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said."But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked."I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples."

I remember the occasion when mother sent me to the main road， about twenty yards away from our house， to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers for a meal. She     1    (instruct) me to take a basket along and collect dry cow dung   for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers.

    2     thought of making an open fire outside at midday， and    3     (cook)in a large three-legged pot in that intense heat， was sufficient to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother and， after serving the group， she called me to the veranda    4     she usually sat to attend to her sewing and knitting.

    5    (look) straight into my eyes， she asked “Why did you get angry    6     I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?”    7     my attempt to deny her blame， using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my rude behavior，mother， she gave me a firm look，    8    (say)， “You cannot detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.”

I    9     (sudden) realized that if I had refused to offer this group of people a meal，    10     would be impossible that in my travels some time in the future， I would get these individuals' help.