Leon was a postman. Every day after Leon woke up, he would feed his 37 cats. Leon didn't really want 37 cats, but one by one they had turned up on his doorstep, and Leon had taken them in.

    Every day, after feeding the cats, Leon would collect the mail from the red postboxes in the village and take it home to sort（分类）. “If only I had 37 helpers instead of 37 cats, my job would be so much easier,” Leon thought. Just then, the cats started meowing for their dinner. That gave Leon an idea. That night, Leon stayed up making 37 cat-sized postal backpacks. Each backpack fitted neatly onto a cat's back. Then, he went around to each postbox, putting signs up that read: Postbox closed. Please use the Postal Cat Service.

    The next day, Leon put a backpack on each cat and dropped off the cats around the village. Leon knew that the cats would be happy lazing around all day. He also knew that they would always come home for dinner. Leon spent the day relaxing, waiting for his helpers to return. Leon was right. The cats did return, but they did not bring home many letters. Somehow, the cats had managed to wriggle（蜿蜒而行） out of their backpacks. Or lose their letters. Or get the letters wet. “Cats are just too unreliable（不可靠的）” Leon thought. Just then, there was a scratching（刮擦声） at Leon's door. A dog was waiting to be invited inside. That gave Leon an idea.

    What is the number one favourite pet in the UK? If you think the answer is “dog” – you are wrong. There are 8.6 million cats and 8.3 million dogs in Britain according to recent figures. But experts predict (预测) that there will be more dogs than cats next year as dogs become more and more popular.

    Dogs as accessories (配饰)

    We like to spend time with our pets. The Queen is famous for her corgis (威尔士矮脚狗) and is often photographed with them. Nowadays some dog owners are more extreme（极端的） – a few TV celebrities even take their dogs shopping or to restaurants. Chihuahuas (吉娃娃犬) are especially popular as “handbag dogs” because they are so small.

    Dog holidays

    People are also giving their pets holidays. Many UK hotels and holiday parks now welcome dogs as guests. What about owners who go abroad? They can leave their pets at a dog hotel or dog spa while they are away. Some even provide their canine (犬) guests with a TV.

    Dogs are for life

    The British charity, Dogs Trust, finds homes for thousands of lost and homeless dogs every year. Their famous slogan（口号） “A dog is for life and not just for Christmas” was created in the 1970s to teach people about the responsibility（责任） of owning a dog. Dogs Trust told British people not to give dogs as gifts or treat them like toys.

    Dogs on TV

    Victoria Sitwell is the host（主持人） of the popular TV programme called “It's me or the dog”. In the show Victoria helps dog owners with their pets' bad behavior. She tries to find ways to problems such as a Dalmatian who thinks he owns the house and won't let the family sit on the sofa, dogs that will only eat ice cream and biscuits and even a bulldog（恶犬） who uses the owner's bed as a toilet. Yuck!

    Fashion for dogs

    You can shop online or on the high street for the latest in dog clothes and accessories（配件）. Specialist shops sell dog boots, dog dress costumes, dog coats, dog dresses and dog pants.

— In the Amazon Bookstore.

— He hasn't finished it yet.

    Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could often see her sit by her window, sewing or reading.

    After several months, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't clean her window. It really looks terrible.”

    One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including the windows.

    Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! The woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

    Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing (批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.

    That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

    Since then, whenever I wanted to judge (评判) someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”

    Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

    I put my sunglasses on and took a deep breath. We began to walk down the street on her first day of school with her hand held tightly in mine. I knew she would be crying in a few minutes, because she always did that when she was 1 about a new environment.

    On the way to school, I told her repeatedly how 2  her new school life would be and expected she would feel  3 . But when she saw the massive group of students everywhere, her face at once fell and the tears (眼泪) came into her eyes. "You can do this, sweetie. Everyone has a place in line; let's go to find yours."

    We lined up to enter the school. Just as she was about to hold on to my leg, her friend from preschool stood next to her. Suddenly, she became  4 and reached out for her friend's hand. And as the teacher began to  5 them all into the school, she wasn't crying, but smiling.

    Honestly, I was 6   to say goodbye when I saw those little feet walk into that big building. I hid the tears behind my sunglasses and waved my hand as she walked inside.

    All day I 7 what she was doing. As I waited to pick her up, I felt like a child standing in line to  8  Santa. She came out with her hand waving and her arms outstretched (伸展). "I didn't cry again, Mommy," she said,  9  hugging (拥抱) me and showing me her backpack full of goodies.

    During two hours of listening to the details of her day, we laughed and talked about all the  10 she had. And just like her, I didn't cry again either, I knew my daughter has grown up.