又係我亂寫一通嘅時候，串錯、寫錯勿追殺。 
Learning English through Short Stories
Go the Extra Mile
Flyers fluttered and scattered through the woods as the race was right around the corner. Every animal, from the squirrels to groundhogs, from butterflies to bees, had been discussing the Great Race. Deer galloping across rivers, birds huddling together and perching on branches, animals gathered round the starting line of the race, hoping to catch a glimpse of the racers.
The crowd cheered as they made way for the racers. Out sprinted the red fox, who was combing his lustrous thick tail. He stood proud on his feet, indulging himself in the sea of applause. Next to the fox was the long slender weasel, she lay low as her eyes were fixed on the road ahead, ready to take off. Then came the hare, who received the loudest shouts of joy as he held his head high and waved at his supporters.
And last, the tortoise staggered his way slowly out of the crowd. Everyone sneered and giggled as the tortoise dragged his heavy shell and his spared body to the starting line. The appearance of the poor slow creature captured even the eyes of the fox and the weasel, they could hardly contain their laughter at the sight of such a rival. Nobody knew why the tortoise decided to sign up for the race last minute, but the tortoise insisted that slow and steady could bring his victory.
The hare, who stood beside the tortoise, chuckled. He was renowned to be the best runner in the woodland. Hardly anybody could keep up his speed, even falcons with the most impeccable eyesight ended up losing him in every hunt. He smirked at the tortoise and blew a raspberry. The tortoise, however, was not intimidated at all. He nodded his head with respect and stretched out his hand. Unsurprisingly, the hare ignored his good intent.
The raccoon, the organiser of the race, leapt onto a tree branch and blew the air horn. At the sound of the screech, the fox, the weasel and the hare charged forwards and soon disappeared within the blink of an eye. The tortoise, frightened by the sudden piercing sound, withdrew in his shell. It took him quite a while to realise the race has started. waddling past the chortling spectators, he tottered and wobbled, slowly making his way to the finishing line.
Midway through the race, the hare stopped and looked around, the fox and weasel were nowhere to be seen. He spotted a giant rock sitting on the edge of the hill. Out of confidence in winning the race, he allowed himself to rest at the rock, enjoying the sunshine and warm breeze.
Suddenly, the ground below rumbled and the cliff collapsed. The hare quickly clung onto the edges. Looking down below at the tiny woods where the starting line was, the hare was petrified and shuddered with fear. He started screaming for help, hoping someone could hear him.
A small auburn head popped out from the cliff above, gazing at the poor hanging hare. The hare cried, “Help me, please!”
The weasel grinned and said, “Why should I help you when I can win?”
The hare panicked as his grasp loosened a little.
“Please! Please help me!”
The weasel shook her head and ran off with a “So long!”
Time flew by and the hare was exhausted, but he never gave up crying for help. Another head slowly emerged from the cliff above. The tortoise tilted his head, eyeing on the hare. Before the hare could speak a word, the tortoise stretched his hand out. The hare was taken aback, never would he imagine he needed help from such an animal. He had always felt he was out of the tortoise’s league and the tortoise would never be able to get close, not to mention lending a helping hand.
The hare reached out for the tortoise’s palm and the tortoise carefully pulled him back up. Panting heavily from exhaustion and fear, the hare asked, “Why did you save me?”
“I don’t take advantages of anyone. If I want to beat you, I want to beat you fair and square,” replied the tortoise. “Are you alright?”
The hare was shocked by the tortoise’s words. He had only viewed the tortoise as a laughing stock and an animal of inferiority, never a friend. Yet, the tortoise had always treated him with decorum. The hare sniffed and replied, “Just a scratch.”
Just when the hare took a step forward, the tortoise tripped and tumbled over, showing his white plastron. His limbs wriggled as the shell spun around. The hare stood still, not knowing what to do.
“You go ahead,” said the tortoise. “I can manage.”
The hare sprang back to the tortoise and helped the tortoise flipped back. The tortoise was surprised.
“Friendship first, competition later,” said the hare. “Come on, let’s go.”
The tortoise and the hare walked slowly together. Near the end of the race, the weather had turned bad. Lightning struck the ground and raindrops splattered. The hare was hesitant to continue the race. They still had a mile ahead of them and the storm seemed to go on forever. He tried to find a shelter but to no avail. Just then, the tortoise lifted his shell up and covered the hare like a canopy.
“Let’s go,” said the tortoise, beaming at the hare.
發表於 
祝大家身體健康
返回列表
