When an ice cream sundae(圣代冰淇淋) cost much less, a boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

    "How much is an ice cream sundae?"

    "Fifty cents," said the waitress.

    The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he asked.

    Some people were waiting for a table, and the waitress was not patient. "Thirty-five cents," she said angrily.

    The little boy again counted the coins. "I will have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream and walked away. The boy finished, paid the money, and left.

    When the waitress came back, she was surprised at what she saw. There were fifteen cents placed beside the empty dish. That was her tip.

    George had stolen some money, but the police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty (有罪) and sent to prison for a long time.

    Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the members of the jury(陪审团)at his trial. Of course, he did not tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, "Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it—that would be too much to expect. But I should be thankful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation (劝告) for mercy to their statement that they consider me guilty."

    "Well, George," answered Jim, "I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong-minded to me."

    George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.

The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy(仁慈).

    Of course, George was very pleased, but he did not have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommend mercy.

    "Well, George," Jim answered, "As I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!"

    On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway(快车道). He looked to be in his late 40s but was probably a lot younger. He had shoulder length straight black hair and a short beard.

    Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, while coming off the ramp(坡道). So did he. Sometimes the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, "I'm blessed!"

    Then one day I was called into my boss's office and was told that I was being laid off. For the rest of that day all I could think of was "how am I going to provide for my kids as a mother, how am I going to pay rent?"

    Needless to say that on my way home that day I was very sad and upset. I didn't remember to look for my spare change and keep it ready like I usually did. Yet there he was as always, as I turned the ramp. He set his eyes on me, while still smiling and waving at others as usual.

    While I was waiting for the red light to turn, he strolled(闲逛) over to my car. He had a big smile. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Today I will give you a dollar." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.

    You see that day he taught me a valuable lesson more than a dollar bill. No matter what material things are taken from you, no one can take away your choice to be joyful. Every time I'm faced with challenges, I think of the homeless man's valuable lesson and remember that I am blessed.

    For a 6-year-old kid, what he or she wants most may be delicious food and enough playtime. Sometimes we think children only have some simple wishes. ______ , a 6-year-old girl in the kindergarten(幼儿园) surprised her teacher.

    An Internet user Katt has a little sister called Peyton. Last week, Katt shared her sister's teacher's note(便条) online.Mrs. Petree shared Peyton's act of kindness(善良). It really touched many people's hearts. Here is the thing. Peyton did very well in class and the reward(奖赏)she chose was to sit with a friend at lunch. The teacher thought for sure who Peyton would choose. But Peyton picked a little boy who never got picked for anything. What a surprise! Mrs. Petree said kids learned to be kind when they saw Peyton's kindness. After that, other kids started to play with the boy. The boy is very different now and he's more and more outgoing

    After reading the note, Katt thought her little sister was great and that she would make the world better one day.

    My father is tall and has short gray hair. He wears glasses with heavy black frames(框架). Today I find a picture of him in 1968. What a surprise! In the picture, he's 15 years old. He's short and he has glasses with small round frames. He has long black hair and it's really straight. He's wearing blue jeans and a T shirt with the word "Love". I'm 15 years old now. I'm of medium height and I have short hair. My hair isn't black, but it's brown. My dad thinks it's strange, but my friends think it's great. I wear glasses, but my glasses have square(方的) red frames. They are so cool. I never wear blue jeans. I like big and baggy pants and long T shirts. Most of my T shirts have pictures of my favorite actors or singers on them.