Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they about to start to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing out at the exit of the hole. After some endeavor, the mice finally got out. The strange thing was that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the exit of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.

Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped closer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other one was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so he could pull the blind one with him to escape.

After witnessing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.

One serious Rome official said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of emperor and minister." The others thought for a while and said: "That was why!" Thus the Rome official showed his arrogance superciliously.

A smart Israeli said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense; so they expressed assent. There-fore, the Israeli's countenance, showed self-satisfaction.

A Chinese, who was accustomed to the firm tradition of loyalty to parents, said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son. " Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed assent yet another time. Therefore, the face of the Chinese conveyed professional humility.

At that moment, one pure-minded Samaritan who was squatted on the ground resting his chin in his palms, hewilderedly looked at other people, and asked: "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship? "

Suddenly, the atmosphere froze. Stupefied, the group looked back at the Samaritan and remained speechless. The Rome official, the Israeli and the Chinese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to respond.

In fact, the true love is not established on benefit, friendship and loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest — in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

They had banged out 10 wins in a row at the start of the Combined Counties South season prompting a few murmurs of interest and questions about their budget so I kept an eye on their progress.

By the turn of the year, they had won 16 out of 16, a record matched by PSV Eindhoven at the time but Ruud van Nistelrooy's team soon dropped two points and Paul Johnson's team carried on winning.