Things always know when a person isn?蒺t well.They know，but they do not care. At such times，in little ways，things make life hard for people.They have special ways of doing this.

When I?蒺m not well，I can never find the things I need. The things I need have gone away from all the places where I expect to find them. If I need something，I can never find it quickly.

When we aren?蒺t well，boxes become heavy. Doors don?蒺t want to open. The wind becomes colder.The sun becomes too hot.The car doesn?蒺t run well.Distances are longer than they were when we felt fine.

The things around us usually do what they should as long as we?蒺re well and strong. But when we aren?蒺t，things often tell us they are really not our friends，but our enemies.

Most of us use oil in some way，and it is difficult to imagine the modern world without oil. But oil is not easy to find and get out of the earth. Men must study the rocks carefully. When they think that there is oil in a certain place，an oil tower（塔） is put up.

A machine in the tower cuts a hole down into the ground little by little. As the hole is made，a steel pipe（管） is pushed down to stop the sides from falling in，and to keep out water. At last，if the men have judged（判斷） correctly，the hole reaches the oil. Usually the oil rushes up the pipe by the pressure（壓力） of the gas in the rocks，and it rushes high into the air. If this oil should catch a light，there would be a terrible fire. A kind of lid（蓋） is fixed to the top of the pipe，and the oil runs out slowly through taps（龍頭）.

If an oil well（井） is made near the middle of the oil field，gas will be surely got. This may blow out of the well if it is not controlled（控制）. In parts of America such gas is sent through pipes to faraway towns and used，like coal-gas，in houses and factories.

There was once a powerful oak（橡樹） tree that grew at the edge（邊緣） of the wood. At the foot of this big tree grew a thin reed（蘆葦）.With every light wind the reed bent（彎曲）.

The oak looked down upon the thin reed and laughed.“Look at me，”said the oak.“See how strong I am.The wind may blow hardest，but I will never bend.”

Now there came a terrible storm. The wind had never been so wilder. It beat at the oak tree and bent the reed.

The wind blew harder and harder，but the oak tree would not bend. Then，suddenly，with a great noise，the storm uprooted（連根拔起） the tree.

When the wind passed over，the little reed stood up straight as before，sadly it looked down upon the fallen big tree.

“Strength is not everything. It is a good thing to be able to bend when one has to，”said the reed.