It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was 15 years old and feeling like the world was 1 for me because there hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted that year.

    Pa came back in and there was ice in his beard. “Come on, Matt,” Pa said. “Dress warmly. It's cold outside. We're going to Widow Jensen's. They are 2 wood.” Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and 3 her with three children, the oldest being eight.

    I 4 went out with Pa and we 5 the sled high with wood. 6 we went to the store and Pa took down a big ham, some bacon, a sack of flour and some shoes, which were put into a smaller sack. We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's in 7. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. I knew we didn't have much money and Widow Jensen had 8 neighbors than us. It shouldn't have been our 9.

    Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her 10. The children were wrapped in 11 and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that 12 gave off any heat at all. “We brought you a few things , Ma'am，” Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.

    She 13 and took the shoes out one pair at a time. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from 14 and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, 15 it wouldn't come out. “We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am,” Pa said. Then he turned to me and said，“Matt，go bring some in. ”

    I wasn't the 16 person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I choked and as much as I hate to 17 it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept 18 those three kids huddled (蜷缩)around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much 19 in her heart that she couldn't speak. Just then the rifle seemed very 20. Pa had given me the best Christmas of my life.

     “Daily Star, sir” called Jason, carrying some newspapers under his arm. The little boy had been running up and down the street, but there were still twenty 1 left. His voice was almost gone and his heart was 2. The shops would soon close, and all the people would go home. He would have to go home too, carrying the papers 3 money. He had hoped to sell more papers tonight to make more money to buy a4for his mother and some seeds for his bird. That was why he had bought the papers with all his money. He 5 as he thought of his failure to sell all his papers.

     “You don't know the 6of selling papers. You must shout, “Hot news! Bomb bursting!” another newsboy Chad told Jason. “7 it's not in the paper at all,” replied Jason. “Just run away quickly 8they have time to see, and you'll 9out and get your money,” Chad said.

    It was a new 10to Jason. He thought of his bird with no 11 and the cake he wanted to buy for his mother, but was 12 that he would not tell a lie. Though he was 13 a poor newsboy, he had been 14 some good things.

The next afternoon Jason went to the office for his papers 15 Several boys were crowding around Chad, who declared with a 16 smile that he sold six dozen the day before. He added that Jason 17 money because he would not tell a lie. The boy 18 at Jason. “You wouldn't tell a lie yesterday, my boy?” A gentleman at the office came up and patted Jason's shoulder 19.”You're just the boy I am looking for.” A week later, Jason started his new20. He lost sale of twenty papers because he would not tell a lie, but got a well-paid job because he told the truth.

A letter to Mum and her mince (肉末) pies

    When I was a little girl, you and I loved decorating the living room and Christmas tree. After 1, we would bake cakes. “Make enough mince pies, because Santa likes them,” you would tell me.

    Christmas Eve came and you would put me on my 2 made bed. I'd fall asleep until Christmas 3. I'd wake up and thrill at the 4 before me. At the bottom of my bed would be loads of presents. I'd scream in delight, 5 tearing the paper open. Running downstairs, I would 6 that Santa hadn't just stopped in the 7 : there were also lots of 8 around the Christmas tree.

    Many years later, the 9 continued. The only thing that 10 was the presents at the end of the bed – I grew out of them.

    One afternoon while we were 11 extra mince pies as usual, it 12 hit me that the extra wasn't for 13. I said, “Those extra mince pies were never for Santa, were they? They were for you!” You never said a word – a smile was your only 14.

    Christmas changed in 1986, when you suffered a 15 brain disease. After 16 throughout Christmas, you passed away on the 29 December.

    Only now am I starting to enjoy Christmas again, and while I don't do the 17 any more, I do have mince pies in the house. I leave one out just for you, as if you were 18 a part of my Christmas. And I make sure I put up the decorations 19 you, and us. Thanks for the 20 memories of Christmas, Mum.

    When my son Gene was about 12 years old, I started helping him learn to work. I 1 twenty chickens and asked him to 2 them. I told him that they would be his own chickens and we would 3 the eggs from him. However, he would have to buy chicken 4 with the money he made from the eggs. Whatever money was 5 would be his to keep. Gene was 6, thinking he would make his first 7 .

    After several weeks' successful work, I began to 8 that egg production was going down. I 9 nothing about it. Then one night, Gene told me he didn't have 10 money to buy the feed. He said the chickens had never 11 a meal and he could not figure out why some of them had stopped 12 eggs.

    Then I asked him if he had 13 the amount of feed he had given the chickens. He was 14. It was like he did not think anyone would ever 15 what he had done. After a long 16, he said yes. He thought he would make more money if he gave them 17 food. I asked him, “Did you fool the chickens?”

    I was just astonished at the question in my own 18. I was dumbfounded at the 19 of it. Yes, you can fool everyone else, but you can't “fool the chickens”, because 20, you will find out, as the saying goes,“ What goes around comes around.”

    A humpback whale is struggling hard in the sea. The humpbacks can weigh 40 tons and stretch 50 feel from nose to tail. That's the kind of 1 and size that easily overturn small boats. To jump onto the 2 of one of these giants is 3 to result in a disaster. But that's just what Sam Synslelien did when he saw a humpback 4 caught in a rope that was 5 to a buoy (浮标) in Central Californians Morro Bay this week.

    Sam, along with crewmate Nicholas Taron, had already tried 6 the unfortunate whale to the U.S. Coast Guard 一 but they were told it would be hours before 7 could be sent. 8, the commercial fishermen 9 this whale didn't have. If the whale was to 10 they had to go get it. There was no other 11 for the whale. They decided to go for it, totally 12 the fear. Turon's 13 in the rescue was mostly in the 14 cheering department. In the clip, you can hear him directing the operation from the side of the boat while filming the entire 15.

    "Swim! Swim!" He yells, "Move! Just get it! Get it!"

    The anxious whale was just swimming in counter-clockwise circles, 16 and being held to the bottom. It threw its heavy tail against the boat. But Sam 17 it and jumped onto the whale's back to save its life. He managed to hang in there, 18 cutting through the rope that 19 the creature. And then with a whoosh (击水声), it dove deep down beneath the great 20. It wasn't much of a thank you, but Synstelien and Taron were left with a whale of a tale.

    On Dec. 13, 2018, Nubia Wilson turned 16. But instead of1with an exciting Sweet 16 birthday party, the California teen devoted this milestone to 2 the lives of orphans in Ethiopia.

    Through several summers of volunteer work at an Ethiopia orphanage, Nubia learned firsthand the severe poverty so many children3. In an email to The Huffington Post, Nubia said that she was4struck by the children's lack of access to5-their school only went through the fourth grade.

    Over the course of her volunteer work, Nubia became6in one student, Hermela. She writes: Out of the many students in the kindergarten class, Hermela became7and attached to me to a point where it was becoming8for both of us to leave each other. She is now in the second grade. The thought of Hermela not being able to have her meal and9education after the fourth grade became 10 and I knew I had to do something.

    That's when Nubia decided that she didn't want a traditional Sweet 16.11, she wanted to use the money her parents would have spent on a party to establish12grade class for Hermela and other kids.

    "The money could provide a(n)13solution that will serve for many years compared to the one-day14of my party," Nubia wrote to Huffpost Live. In short, I want Hermela to continue15.

    After telling friends and family her16, Nubia set up a(n)17page "Keep Hermela Smiling" on CrowdRise. Her18will raise funds for the Fregenet Foundation, which funds education and community services in Ethiopia.

    So far, Nubia has19$ 2,781 of her $ 10,000 goal. Nubia says that her parents have been extremely20; they're selling most of their Ethiopian artifacts to help raise funds.

    Nubia's birthday may not have been a party, but it's truly a celebration.