My name is Lu Fang. I'm a Chinese girl. I am 15 years old. I am in No. 4 Middle School in Beijing. I am in Class 1, Grade 8. Liu Huan is my favorite singer(歌手). And I like You and me very much. My telephone number is 010-55703610. My favorite color is purple. Mr. Lee is my English teacher. He is young. And he is very strong. I like him very much.

    It was a Christmas night. I was an unlucky nurse who had to work on such a beautiful festival. When I was so tired that I didn't want to work any longer, three people came to my desk — a tired woman and two children.

    "Are you all sick?" I asked.

    "Yes," the woman answered and lowered her head.

    But when they started to tell their problems, things became unclear. One child had a fever, but his temperature was OK. The other child had an earache, but she could not tell me which ear hurt. It seemed that the mother was trying to cough.

    Something was wrong. But I only explained that it might take a while before a doctor could meet them. "Take your time, please," said the mother. I checked their information — no address. Suddenly I knew, they were homeless and the hospital was warm.

    The family stayed together under the Christmas tree, smiling and talking with each other sweetly. Quietly, I went back to the nurses' station and told them what happened in the waiting room. It was just like the God sending us a gift on Christmas Day. The nurses' station suddenly came back to life. All the nurses went into action for "a Christmas emergency(急诊)."

    We took out our meals for our Christmas "sick people". We also put oranges and apples together as presents. We tried to give them a warm place on Christmas night. Later, the little girl kissed me and said, "Thanks for being our angels"

    A man in Pakistan is now working to help children get an education. When he was a child, he did not go to school because he was too poor.

    It is reported that Pakistan has 25 million children who do not go to school. That is the second ­highest number in the world. Only Nigeria has more. Many Pakistani children must work to support their families.

    Mohammad Ayub was once one of those children. He is now a firefighter. He also manages a small school. VOA recently visited the school in the capital Islamabad.

    Ayub started with just one student in 1982. He saw a boy cleaning cars for days. He asked him, "Why don't you go to school?" The boy answered that his parents were dead and he had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters.

    Ayub was also an orphan and he, too, had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters. He said, "When my father died, everyone who came to the funeral said they were sorry, but no one helped." He sold newspapers and did other work to earn enough money to pay school fees for his brothers and sisters.

    Ayub wanted to help the young boy who washed cars, but he did not have enough money to pay the boy's school fees.

    Today, Ayub teaches many children at his school in a public park. Some of the children attend other schools in the morning, but come to Ayub in the afternoon to get help with their homework.

    Ayub has helped a large number of poor children since he began teaching. Many of them come from very poor areas near the park.

    Ayub said," I used to argue with kids who worked ' Why are you washing someone's dishes or their clothes? Why don't you study? ' "

    One of the children he advised to attend classes was Farhat Abbas. Ayub found him working with his friends about 12 years ago. "He followed us back home. He told our parents he wanted to teach us and asked them to send us to his school, "Abbas said.

    Today, Abbas is taking classes at a college and is helping Ayub.

    Many children are out of school, and those who do attend classes often get a poor education. Information gathered by an organization shows half of all Pakistani children in the 5th grade do not understand basic mathematics and cannot read a story in their language.

    A group in Islamabad reports Pakistan spends less on education than any other country in South Asia.

    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 66^th 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.