George was so excited he could hardly wait to get to the store. He walked so fast that his sister Beth had to run. “Do you have to hurry like that?” she puffed. On his way from school he had seen that baseball cap in Rogers’ store window. Only a dollar and this was the last cap! George had looked at the cap a long time. He wanted it more than anything. Every boy at school had one.

George thought of his piggy hank, into which he put every coin for running errands (差使) for his family and neighbors.

George raced home, not stopping for anything. He held the fat iron pig, opened it carefully, and poured out the coins. Ten...twenty...thirty...ninety cents. If only he had one more dime (一角硬币)!

Lost in thought, George stared out the window. “What’s wrong, George?” asked Mother George told about the money and the cap. “If you give me what you have, I’ll add a dime,” Mother said, handing him a dollar bill.

George jumped up. “Oh, thanks, Mom. That’s great!” George gave all his coins to Mother and took the dollar bill. And away went George and Beth to the store with the dollar bill in George’s pocket.

They turned the last comer. Ahead was a group of boys and girls, talking heatedly and looking down at the sidewalk.

One of the children was Ronny, a new boy who had been in this town only a short time. Ronny’s father had been sick, so there wasn’t much money for extras - like baseball cap.

“What’s the matter?” Beth asked, anxiously.

“It’s Ronny,” answered one of them. “He’s been working and finally saved up a whole dollar, and now it’s lost!”

George went over to Ronny.

“We’ll all help look. We’ll find it!”

“I was going to get that last cap in Rogers’ window. I wanted it a lot. With that cap, I could join them.” Ronny said slowly.

Suddenly George remembered how Ronny had watched the fellows playing baseball, his eyes lighting up eagerly as they shouted and ran.

George stared at the ground, thinking hard.

Forcing a smile, George showed Beth the empty pocket.

Write us a story!

We are looking for interesting stories by teenagers to publish (发表) in our magazine. Your story must begin like this:

It was the. first day back at school after the winter holidays. I was sitting quietly in the classroom and feeling very nervous.

Your story must include:

*homework, a good mark

It was the first day back at school after the winter holidays. I was sitting quietly in the classroom and feeling very nervous.

Mrs. Green in Room 301

The notice was posted next to the mailboxes in the apartment building I’d just moved into in Brooklyn, New York. “A Mitzvah for Mrs. Green,” it read. “Sign up to drive Mrs. Green in Room 301 from her chemotherapy(化疗) treatments twice a month.”

Since I wasn’t a driver, I couldn’t add my name, but the word “mitzvah” lingered in my thoughts. It means “to do a good deed”. According to my grandmother, it also had another meaning. This was the one she was always pointing out to me because she noticed how shy I was about letting people do things for me. “Linda, it’s a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you.”

Three weeks later, on the night of taking my final exam, the snow was falling steadily for hours. Pride would not let me knock on a door and say, “It’s a 10-minute ride by car but a long wait for the bus, and it’s a 30-minute bus ride, so could you possibly give me a lift to school?” So I trudged (艰难地走) to the bus stop. For an hour, I prayed desperately that a bus would come. Then I gave up. The wind at my back pushed me toward home and I seemed to hear Grandma’s whisper: Ask someone for a lift! It could be a mitzvah. That idea had never really made sense to me. And even if I wanted to ask someone for a good deed, there wasn’t a soul on the street.

But as I pushed the door of my apartment building open, I found myself face to face with a woman at the mailbox. In that split second, desperation overcame pride, “Could you possibly give me a lift?” I hurriedly said, feeling quite awkward and uncomfortable, “I never ask anybody for a lift, but...” An odd look crossed the woman’s face, and I added, “Oh! I live in Room 401. I moved in recently!”

Then, without hesitation, she said, “Of course.”

Back home, I happened to know Grandma Alice was Mrs. Green!

One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that: he only had one clime left. He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.

However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked，“How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased his faith in God and the human race. He was about to give up and quit before this point.

Years later the young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists could be called in to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room and determined to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was positive that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words...

“Paid in full with a glass of milk.

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly”

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently，“Thank you, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands.”