short story

1b00Could someone please edit the short story for me? Any suggestions to improve the story are welcome. Thanks in advance.02b02br
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01b00One day, Alan was playing hide-and-seek with his friends. He was eager to find one of his friends quickly. 02b02br
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01b00Thinking that one of them was hiding behind a tree near the pond, he ran towards the tree.00 00Unfortunately he was running so fast and so near the pond that he slipped and fell into it as the ground was wet. As he could hardly swim, he was struggling in the water and shouting for help at the same time, hoping that somebody would come to his rescue.00 02b02br
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00Fortunately, his friends heard him and ran00 towards the pond. They were shocked as they knew that Alan was not a good swimmer and they themselves did not know how to swim. They did not know what to know. Luckily, they saw an old man walking00 with a walking stick. James asked him, “Sir, may I borrow00 your walking stick to save my friend from drowning?” He agreed without hesitation. He sat down on the nearby bench before lending James his walking stick.02br
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01b00James, together with his friends, quickly ran to the pond. Alan quickly 00 00grabbed 02b00the walking stick, which James was holding. James then pulled him to the edge00 01b00of the pond. Alan was very grateful to James for saving his life. 02b02br
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01b00James wiped the walking stick dry00 02b00with a piece of cloth before returning it to the old man. James then told him, “Thank you, sir, for lending me your walking stick. With your stick, I managed to save my friend.” The old man was glad that his walking stick had saved a life. 02br
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01b00As Alan was completely drenched, his friends went to the nearby shopping centre to buy him a towel, a shirt and a pair of shorts. After that, they quickly ran back to the pond. Alan paid James for the things he had bought. He then changed into the new clothes. He thanked his friends for their help. 02b02br
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