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Much more difficult, that one, because it's closer to Old English. It takes quite a bit of effort for me to plough through that, because some of the words are completely removed from anything familiar to modern English. It reads something like this (and this translation took more than a few seconds, I dare say) :

Then commanded the king the knight for to rise
and he full readily uprose and readied himself well;
kneeled down before the king, who received that weapon
and he gave a sound of joy and lifted his hand
and gave him god's blessing and gladly bid him
that his heart and his hand should hardy be both.

Old English, on the other hand, is absolutely impossible for me to read or translate, because it's farther removed again from Middle English. The opening lines of Beowulf:

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum

FFFF. I can't make any sense of that whatsoever, except that "Hwæt!" is a call to attention (like "Hark" or "Listen"), and that Scyld Scefing is the king's name (though if I didn't know the story, I wouldn't know that). ... Er.

Anyway. Yes. Middle English is interesting but sometimes very difficult. I can't actually speak it yet, but hearing it speak it properly (or, er, the way we think it was spoken) is just so awesome. Same thing with Old English. As for reading and vocabulary and so on, generally the really difficult words have translations alongside the passage, and there are generally notes at the bottom for passages that have meanings that are not immediately apparent, or parts where we don't really know wtf is meant.

Those list you mentioned - the ones with really important books - yes, I've read it, and you know... I feel that I haven't read enough of them either. It doesn't help that people are always saying to me, "Oh my god, You've never read Lord of the Flies? Or Animal Farm? Or Farenheit 451? Or Of Mice and Men? Or The Crucible?" etc, etc, repeat for many many novels generally taught in American high schools. Sigh. The world is big, and people have been writing for a long time, and I find myself thinking that I can't possibly read everything. Though sometimes I get so annoyed, as occasionally people assume you're ignorant if you haven't read those books. I think to myself... really? Really, now. Okay, I might not have read Animal Farm or The Crucible, but have you read The Aeneid? Or Chaereas and Callirhoe? What about The Song of Roland or The Revenger's Tragedy or The History of Rasselas or --- well, you understand what I mean, surely. ... Er. Sorry for rambling on that matter. It's just that I got this feeling recently, in regard to a remark someone made on the meme - someone didn't catch a reference, and someone else said, "Do you read books? Or go to school?" I guess I've just been letting my reaction stew a while. Er.

Moving on! Ahh, online pet games. No, actually, the one I'm thinking of was made after Neopets was popular, around 2003 or so. It's called "Furry Paws", and it has a pretty steady following, though it's nowhere near as well-known as Neopets or Webkinz. It's precisely the same idea as Neopets, being online and everything. Unfortunately for me, I lost contact with my Estonian friend a year or so after I got to know her. She just sort of dropped off the face of the planet - probably lost interest in the game, I guess. Sigh. I wish I could get in touch with her again, but I really have no way to do so, as that was my only way of contacting her.