When my brother and I got adopted (收养), I was four and he was two. I was 1 at first. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't smile at all. But then I found a lovely new nightgown (睡衣) on my bed. I started to smile. I had 2 had my own nightgown before. When my dad saw me 3 , he hugged me. He started to cry a little. I felt happy because my brother and I finally had a forever 4.

    I remember once when I was in the third grade, a boy asked me if I was adopted. I said I couldn't remember, because I was too shy to tell him. But it doesn't feel 5 to talk about it now. At home, we talk about it a lot.

    I'm in the sixth grade now, and a lot of people 6 my story. It feels great. I always feel good about myself when my friends are around—one friend especially. When my friend was little, her mother couldn't 7 her, so she was adopted. When I heard her story, it sounded a lot like my story. It started out hard, but that part is over.

    Life is good for me. I 8 my parents and do whatever I can to help. I'm interested in 9 and I sometimes prepare breakfast. I collect eggs from the henhouse and cook them for breakfast. When I feed my dog or close the chickens up for the night, I give them love, just like my 10 give me.

    Two boys were walking down a road. They noticed a man 1 in the field. The younger boy looked at his elder friend and said, "Let's hide his shoes 2 he won't be able to find them. It must be funny!"

    The elder boy thought for a moment and said, "The man looks3 . Have you seen his clothes? Let's do this instead: Let's hide a silver coin in each shoe and 4 how he deals with them."

    The younger boy 5. They put a silver coin in each shoe and hid nearby. Then the farmer finished his work and came out. He put on a shoe and immediately felt the money 6his foot. He held the coin in his hand, looked at it in 7 and wanted to know who had put it in his shoe. Then he 8 to see who had done it, but no one was there. He then put on the other 9and felt the second coin. The man was so 10 when he found another one in his shoe.

    He then dropped to his knees and said 11 . The boys could hear it as they were very  12 . He said that his sick wife and his boys were in need of food. He was thankful for the 13from an unknown person.

    After the farmer 14, the boys came out from their hiding place and slowly walked home. They felt happy and learned how wonderful it was to15 others.

    With a hat by his feet, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building. He held up a sign which said," I'm blind, please help."

    Only a few people put1in the hat. A man was walking by. He dropped some coins into the hat, then turned the sign2wrote some words, put the sign back and left.

    Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people began to give money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man came to see3things were going. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, " Were you the one who 4 my sign this morning? What did you write?"

    The man said, I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a(n)5way." What he wrote was. "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

    Both the6told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by throwing some money into the7. The second one, 8, told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day. But the boy couldn't.

    There are at least two lessons we can learn9this story. First, be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less Help them if you can. 10, be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.