Johnny lived with his mother and father in a small town in the mountains. One day there was an earthquake near the 1. Many houses were 2. Everyone thought that there would soon be another earthquake.

    They were 3 that the second earthquake would be worse than the first. “We 4 send Johnny to a safe place,” Johnny's mother said to her husband, “Many of our friends are sending 5 children to relatives in other towns.”

    “We'll 6 him to my brother, Peter,” Johnny's father said. “He lives a long way away. Johnny will be 7 with him.”

    He telephoned Johnny's uncle Peter and asked him 8 he would let Johnny 9 with him.

    “He is a good boy,” he said. “He won't give you any 10 .”

    “11 , Johnny's uncle Peter said. 12  I'm not 13  to children. I 14  a very quiet and peaceful 15 .”

    “You won't know Johnny is in the house.” His father told him.

    16  Johnny, 17  was five, went to live with his uncle.

    Two days 18 , his mother and father 19  a telegram from Peter.

    It said, “I'm returning the child. Please send the 20 .”

    It is not often that a person has sympathy for someone who stole from him / her. But when Chrissy Marie read the note written by the brother of the “1” who took her butterfly wind chime(风铃), her heart 2.

    The young boy 3 the note and left it on her doorstep. Chrissy 4 a photo on Facebook of the note and the US＄5 the little boy 5 .

    The note read: “I am6that we stole your wind chime. Our mum died and she liked butterflies. My sister7 it to put by our window. I am sorry this is the only8 I have. Please do not be mad at us. Jake .”

    Chrissy Marie wants Jake and his sister to know she is not9 Now Chrissy wants to find Jake and his sister and 10 their money.

    Chrissy11to Jake via her Facebook message: “Well Jake, I hope you can come to get your money12 . I had three of those wind chimes. And I am not mad at all.”

    Chrissy is13 to the area, so she doesn't know many people. She tried to14who Jake is or where he lives, but 15 .

     “I have knocked on a few doors nearby. But I can't16 far because of my injured leg.” she wrote. “I asked my neighbour,17 she didn't know anyone named Jake.”

    Chrissy understands how 18 it can be to lose a mother. She said, “Obviously, the boy felt 19 for what his sister did.”

    Chrissy has been surprised by all the 20 her post got, and she hopes it won't scare Jake off.

    It was early one hot morning in 2015 when, accompanied by my mother, I was 1 wheeled to the taxi stand. Three weeks earlier, I had 2 my left ankle at home. Now, I was on my way to being 3 for an operation at the Philippine General Hospital.

    I was feeling 4 as I'd never had surgery before and the thought of it 5 me. After waiting for 6 for more than 90 minutes, we were still standing there. It usually only takes a few minutes, but on this particular Sunday they would 7 us either already filled with passengers or 8 to take us. Perhaps they weren't 9 to carry my 10. My mother was starting to get frustrated as we were fast running out of time; our 11 was scheduled for 10:45am. Then a black SUV 12 and stopped in front of us. The driver, taking a look at us, said, “You two look like you could use a 13!” He told us he'd seen us earlier as he was taking his son to a 14 school activity. He was now returning home and saw that we were still there.

    With no questions asked, this good Samaritan welcomed us aboard and got us to the hospital. We arrived at 10:30 – just in time. He refused any 15, saying people should help one another. He left with a smile.

    I was finally 16. A long recovery process and physical therapy followed and now I am able to 17 again.

    To this day we have not 18 again this friendly driver who went out of his way, but his generosity towards us has 19 in our minds and taught me to keep watch for and help others 20.

    I was called into the principal's office but I had no idea what I had done wrong. When I arrived, my brother Brian was there. He had been crying. Brian grabbed my hand and said, Amanda has been in a car1."

    Every inch of my body went2 as I realized what he had said. My sister was injured. One question sounded over and over in my head3 could this have happened？ Even though she was only 17, Amanda was one of the4 drivers I knew. I felt shocked and terrified.

    My brother and I left immediately5 the hospital my sister was in. When we arrived, my sister's face was6 from the eyebrows up and you could see blood everywhere. She was7 to several machines. My mom and dad stood at her side crying.

    My sister looked8 at me with blood﹣filled eyes. In her eyes, where I expected to see9, I saw strength. She said to me, "I love you, Renee. I suddenly realized how10 I tell my sister I love her. I tried to11 her, but she wasn't listening any more,12 some doctors were taking her away to the x﹣ray room.

    As they wheeled her away I wanted to scream out, but I couldn't. I couldn't move, speak or even cry13she was around the comer. Then the tears came.

    Though everyone kept telling me she would be all right, something made me14. Every moment that passed allowed the15 in my mind to grow bigger. Finally, the doctor walked down the hall and stood quietly in front of us. It was then that the long﹣awaited16 came. Amanda was going to be okay.

    My heart leaped as I realized I still had a sister. She would need a lot of plastic surgery （整容手术）, but she was 17.

    A year later,18 my sister and I quarrel sometimes, every time I see her face and spot the large scar that stretches across it, I remember to tell her that I19 her. I remember when I almost didn't have the20 to tell her again how much I love her.

     For a long time, I thought a present and a gift were no different. I grew up in a household where presents 1 special occasions, say there were always presents for Christmas and our birthdays.

     So when I married Gary who did not give presents on a 2 basis, I had to make an adjustment. Gary did not wholly avoid gift-giving, though. 3 noticing how many hours I spend on the 4. he brought home a shoulder pad (垫肩）for the telephone receiver. But mostly, he 5 holidays, let alone shop for earrings to 6 to me showing his affection.

    I tried to change Kim 7. I bought books for his birthdays and knitted him hats and sweaters for Christmas. 8I began to tell him what I wanted, giving 9 instructions, but got nowhere.

    Last year when the snowstorm 10 our town and he was on business, I used his present—road scraper (铲土机)to11 both our drive and our neighbor's, thinking how12 earrings would have been. Gary had wisely chosen not the thing I 13, but the thing that he knew I would need.

    I 14 began to understand the difference between a present and a gift. A present is just a thing. But a gift is broader and often cannot be 15. It is a small act of kindness, the 16to bend to another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort.17 is a gift. Any expression of it, freely given, is a(n) 18 from the heart that is immeasurably better than a present.

    My insistence on presents must have seemed to Gary a lack of 19 for the gifts he had been giving all along, but he never stopped giving them.

    Gary will be home this Christmas, but I don't 20 a present. I already have the greatest gift.

    It was our first Thanksgiving in the new house and I wanted everything to be perfect. But my plan for everyone to contribute some preparation work had been 1 by my husband's business trip. Even worse, a critical project for me that week had2two days of planned vacation. By Wednesday, my vision of a table with fresh flowers, 3drinking glasses and various homemade desserts had already4 away, I just hoped that I'd find a clean tablecloth and eight5forks.

    In my perfect Thanksgiving, there wouldn't be any orange in my salad because It hadn't made the grocery list. There would be no perfect family photos to record that day because I hadn't got the broken camera6. Someone had brought home the wrong toilet paper, which was the last straw that made me7.

    I don't remember what my son asked me as he was vacuuming(吸尘), 8I do remember twisting into that mean-and-tight mom-face before barking out an 9. This combination of noise and anger is a universal signal to kids everywhere that they might as well 10 me. But he didn't.

    Instead of disappearing from view, my second-grader turned 11 the vacuum and walked across the room to12me. He never said a word. He just13 his arms around me, making me feel 14of myself until today.

    It turned out a(n)15 Thanksgiving. The people I loved gathered around my table and dined just one choice of the pie. My dad used a mismatched fork without 16. My daughter drew a picture of us where everyone smiled.

    My son took a(n)17 to teach me that sometimes we need a hug most when we are 18huggable. This is the best gift you can give. One size19 all and no one ever minds if you 20 .