第一篇：Long ago， God had many burdens which he wished to have carried from one place to another on the earth,so he asked the animals to lend a hand. But all of them began to make excuses for not helping: the elephant was too dignified（高贵的）; the lion, too proud; and so on. Finally the birds came to God and said, “If you will tie the burdens into small bundles（束）, we’ll be glad to carry them for you. We are small but we would like to help.” So God fastened upon the back of each one a small bundle, and they all set out walking across the plain to their destination（目的地）. They sang as they went, and did not seem to feel the weight of their burdens at all. Every day the burdens seemed lighter and smaller until the loads seems to be lifting the birds, instead of the birds carrying the burdens. When they arrived at their destination, they discovered that when they removed their loads, there were wings in their place.
Burdens we carry for others may become wings of spirit, to lift us into happiness such as we have never known.
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were the first people to climb the West Face of the Siula Grande in the Andes mountains. They reached the top successfully, but on their way back conditions were very difficult. Joe fell and broke his leg. They both knew that if Simon continued alone, he would probably get back safely. But Simon decided to risk his life and try to lower Joe down the mountain on a rope.
As they went down, the weather got worse. Then another trouble occurred. They couldn’t see or hear each other and, by mistake，Simon lowered his friend over the edge of a precipice (峭壁) . It was impossible for Joe to climb back or for Simon to pull him up. Joe's weight was pulling Simon slowly towards the precipice. Finally , after more than an hour in the dark and the icy cold, Simon had to take a rest. In tears, he cut the rope. Joe fell into a large crevasse (裂缝) in the ice below. He had no food or water and he was in terrible pain. He couldn’t walk, but he managed to get out of the crevasse and started to move towards their camp, nearly ten kilometers away.
Simon had returned the camp at the foot of the mountain. He thought that Joe must be dead, but he didn't want to leave immediately. Three days later, in the middle of the night, he heard Joe's voice. He couldn’t believe it. Joe was there, a few meters from their tent, still alive.