1 . Once upon a time, there was a king who had twin sons. There was some _______ about which one had been born first. As they grew up, the king sought out a _______ way of choosing one of them as the crown prince.

One day he said, “My sons, the _______ will come when one of you must succeed (继任) me as king. The _______ of power are very heavy. To find out which of you is _______ able to bear them cheerfully, I'm sending you to one of my advisors, who will place equal burdens on your _______. My crown will go to the one who first _______ bearing his burden.”

The brothers _______ together at once. Soon they met a weak and _______ woman struggling under a heavy weight. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other ________, “We have a burden of our own to worry about. Let’s be on our way.”

So the second son ________ on while the first stayed behind to help the woman. As he continued, the first son found others who needed ________: a blind man who needed assistance to go home and a lost child whom he carried back to her ________ parents.

Eventually he did reach his father’s advisor, ________ his own burden, and went back home with it ________ on his shoulders. When he arrived back at the palace, his brother met him at the gate and greeted him with ________. “I don’t understand, ” the brother said. “I ________ Father the burden was too heavy to carry. How did you ________ it alone?”

The future king replied ________, “I suppose by helping others carry their burdens. I ________ the strength to bear my own.”