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.

    The famous director（导演）of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset（日落）over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for over. He sent his camera workers out one evening to film the sunset for him.

    The next morning he said to the men, "Have you provided me with that sunset?"

     "No, sir," the men answered. The director was angry. "Why not?" he asked.

     "Well, sir," one of the men answered, "we're on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise（日出）over the sea, if necessary（必要）, but not a sunset. "

     "But I want a sunset!" the director shouted."（Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one."

    But then a young secretary had an idea. "Why don't you photo a sunrise," she asked, "and then play it backwards? Then it'll look like a sunset."

     "That's a very good idea!" the director said. Then he turned to the camera workers and said, "Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea."

    The camera workers went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful coast. Then at nine o'clock they took it to the director. "Here it is, sir, "they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.

    They all went into the studio（工作室）. "All right, "the director explained, "now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the 'sunset' behind them. "

    The "sunset" began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera workers to stop.

    The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

    I was travelling alone through the UK. To reach places that were off the public transportation map, I bought an old car, which cost most of my money. I couldn't afford to stay in a hotel, so I had to camp in my car for the rest of the trip.

    One morning I woke up in my old car on a country road in Ireland and saw a single house, The water in my thermos(保温瓶) had gone cold, so I knocked on the door of the house. A woman opened it. I asked her for some hot water. But she wouldn't let me get away with just that! I was invited indoors. She asked me to sit at the table and have breakfast with her family. They filled my thermos before I left.

    I was greatly moved. And I decided to pass the kindness on. The other day I met a young man who had been driving around to look for a parking lot. He looked increasingly upset. I was glad that I was able to point one out to him. His thankful smile was the hugest reward(奖赏) for me.