This is a tale of two friends — one is blind, the other has no arms. On their own, the two are “disabled”. But together, they are a powerful team that has changed part of their village in North China's Hebei Province into a rich, green forest. Meet 53-year-old Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi!

      Their story began in 2000, when Haixia, who was already blind in his right eye, lost his left one after an illness. Wenqi lost his arms in an accident when he was just three. Neither could find a job, so the two decided to team up. They rented some poor land and began to plant trees. In return, the local officials paid them a small fee.

      Haixia and Wenqi never imagined that they would end up creating an environmental paradise. Their forest now has over 10,000 trees, hundreds of birds and many other wild animals. In addition, it saves the village from river flooding during the rainy season.

      When the friends work together, they focus on their strengths not their disabilities. Their day begins at 7 a.m. when the sightless Haixia carries Wenqi across the river to get to their worksite. Since they cannot afford to buy young trees to plant, the two use branches from existing trees. Haixia climbs to the tree-top and with Wenqi's direction, selects the perfect branch. He then digs a hole and carefully plants it. Finally Wenqi waters the area.

      Though hard-working, the men don't make much money. But as Wenqi puts it, “We stand on our own feet, so the fruits of our work taste sweeter.”

Neither Haixia nor Wenqi cares about money. Together, they already have everything they need — a perfect pair of eyes, two strong hands, and the best friendship in the world!

    Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Many heroes are not even human, such as dogs, horses and cats. They are so brave and helpful that human beings are proud of them, too. Lucca, a 12-year-old dog, is a great animal hero. She is a retired US Marine Corps dog. On April 5, 2016 she received the Dickin Medal from PDSA in London, England. And PDSA will provide free medical care for the sick and wounded animals in need. The Dickin Medal was founded in 1943 by Maria Dickin.

    The Medal is the highest prize for animals working in wars in the world.

    Lucca is the first U.S. Marine Corps dog to receive the medal. As a search dog, Lucca's work was dangerous. She was trained to find hidden weapons and explosive devices. According to the US Marine Corps, Lucca protected the lives of thousands of soldiers, and no soldiers were killed while she was going around. She completed over 400 dangerous pieces of work during six years in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, she lost her front left leg in an explosion while working in Afghanistan.

    Lucca is the 66th animal to receive the Dickin Medal. 30 dogs (including Lucca) have got the Medal as well as 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat.

    On a sunny Sunday, ten fully well-dressed people were standing at the airport (机场) waiting for the parachute (降落伞) training. Suddenly, with the help of a guide dog, a blind (瞎的) man was coming with a parachute on his back.

    "Do you also come for the parachute training (训练)?" someone asked.

    "Yes!" the blind man answered in a loud voice.

    "Ah-" the people cried in surprise.

    "I know. Are you wondering how a blind man can parachute?" the blind man said happily, "It's not difficult. I'll parachute like you."

    "But how do you know when to jump?" someone asked.

    "Although I'm blind, I can hear! When the bell for the training rings, I'll carry my dog to follow you." the blind man replied.

    "Then how do you know when to open the parachute?" someone asked again.

    "The coach (教练) says, counting to five from the time I jump down, I can open it." replied the blind man.

    "But when you are about to fall to the ground (落地), how do you know when to fall to the ground? It is the most dangerous minute."

    "It's easy. When my dog is afraid into crying and the rope (绳) in my hands becomes light, I'll be ready for falling to the ground." They looked at each other, with no words.

    At the end of the training, the coach told everybody," In this training, Robert gets the highest score (得分) for his best action."

    "Who is Robert?" they asked.

    "He," the coach replied, pointing at the blind young man.