John is five years old now. He is a good boy. He is very clever and can read very well. But he can't tell the right time by clock. He doesn't say eight o'clock in the morning, twelve o'clock or four o'clock in the afternoon. He always says "breakfast time" for eight o'clock, "lunch time" for twelve o'clock and "tea-time" for four o'clock in the afternoon. His mother wants to teach him to know the time by clock.

    "Can you count, John?" his mother asks him. "Yes. Let me count for you. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve..." "That's good, John. Now let me tell you to say the time. Now, look! I put the long hand on twelve and the short hand on one. That is one o'clock. If I put the short on two, that's two o'clock. Do you know?"

    "Yes, I do." John tells his mother. "Good. If I put the short hand on four, what's that?" his mother asks and really puts the short one on four. "Tea-time, Mum. And I am hungry."

    I have a lovely daughter, whose name was Eloise. She is only nine years old. I picked her up from school and went to the supermarket for a few things. I was hoping to be in and out quickly.

    I found a short line with just one person ahead(在……前面) of me. It was an elderly woman, and she was paying for her things with only change(零钱). It took a long time. After a whole day at work, I began to lose patience.

    But then I watched the young clerk(职员). He helped her count her change, ever so tenderly(体贴地) taking it from her shaking hands. I listened to him repeatedly say to her, “Yes, madam.” When she asked the clerk if she had enough money to buy a bag, he told her she did. Then he went two lines over to get one for her. Never once did this clerk get annoyed(生气的) or roll(滚动) his eyes. He was patient and kind.

    As I was watching him, I saw Eloise was, too. I realized that my daughter was learning an important lesson from a complete stranger.

    After the woman was finished, the clerk began ringing up my things and thanked me for my patience. I thanked him, too.I found the manager and told him about the clerk's kindness and patience.

    Then we left the supermarket with a full cart(手推车), but also with a heart full of thankfulness for such an important lesson. Sometimes just one act of kindness is all it takes to encourage others to do the same. Being kind to others can also make you feel good.

    It was about 1：00 in the morning. It was bright light in my neighbor's kitchen. I thought he might be having midnight food so I went back to my bed. Soon, there was a burning smell and I realized there must be something wrong. I jumped out of bed at once and went to have a look. I saw fire coming out of his kitchen. I shouted, "Fire！Fire！"But nobody heard me. I ran quickly to my house and called the Fire Department(消防队) and went back to my neighbor's house.

    I knocked at the door and called my neighbor's name, but there was no answer. I tried to break into the house and saved a cat and a chicken. Then I poured water through the kitchen window but it was no use, because the fire was too big. Luckily, the firemen arrived and put out the fire in time.

    When my neighbor came back, he was sad because his kitchen was burnt down, but he thanked me for calling the Fire Department and saving his pets.

    A week later, my neighbor invited me to his home for dinner. In his new kitchen, he took a photo of me. Later on, he gave me the photo as a gift. It made me happy.

    I stood in the doorway, watching my older brother carefully putting clothes into his bag. I coughed uneasily. Finally 1 that I was there, Rocky turned towards me with a sad smile.

    "I'm leaving tomorrow," he said.

    "I know." My 2 was almost a whisper (低声). I was 3 with myself for being so weak, but I wasn't about to cry.

    "My flight is early, but there is still enough time to the airport," he said. Seeing the 4 look on my face, he quickly added, "I promise I won't leave without saying goodbye."

    I tried to say 5, but I didn't. It's always 6 to keep quiet if you're about to cry. "You promised you wouldn't cry," he said to me, thinking that I was close to 7.

    I remember the day he taught me how to ride a bike. At first I thought he was always right behind me, holding the seat to keep me from 8. I was happy with this, but he knew he couldn't hold me up all my life. He told me that one day he would have to let go.

    His coughing stopped my thinking. What was left to say? How could I say goodbye to the person who taught me everything?

    The next morning I 9, looked at my alarm clock, and realized he had left hours ago. We never even said goodbye.

    Goodbye, Rocky! 10 he may have been many miles away, I knew he heard me, even if it was only an answer in his heart.