It snowed for days. Everything was frozen solid. As we hadn’t the heating in our classroom, most of us wore thick and warm clothes. Then, by chance I discovered under Lucas’ dirty woolen coat, there was just a semi-sleeved shirt.

It was so strange that I couldn’t help wondering whether Lucas was crazy to make such a choice. I told this to the boys in my class. “How stupid!” We all ran to see Lucas and jokingly pulled of his coat. Lucas stepped back, shaking with both cold and anger. I saw tears welled into his eyes.

When I went back home, I told mom “the stupid choice” Lucas made.

Mom fell silent. Then she made a phone call. The next day, she told me to bring a package to the school. “Give it to Lucas. Tell him to put on the clothes in it.”

“Why?” As a fourth-grader, I wasn’t wise enough to see something hidden behind. It was years later that I understood that Lucas’ family had the basics, but there was little money for much else beyond food and shelter.

Mom hugged me and said softly, “Guess why a hungry person doesn’t eat?”

“Because he can’t get any food to eat.” I answered loudly.

“Exactly.” Mom said, “So, why doesn’t Lucas wear thick and warm sweater?”

It all clicked into place.

It made me feel guilty. Mom said it was unkind to make fun of disadvantaged friends. And mom also told me to “see” through my heart, but not just through my eyes. I wondered “How?”

At the end of the term, the teacher told us we were going to take a class picture as, for some reason, we would break up when we stepped into the fifth grade. Twenty-two students lined up in three rows and faced the camera with happy smiles. The teacher told us anyone who paid a dollar would bring a class picture back home. I could hardly wait to get my first class picture.

Then suddenly, I thought of Lucas.

Lucas was frozen in shock when the teacher handed him that class picture.

A Precious Dress

I was raised in a family where my parents were united in their way of bringing up children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out, and she managed the family budget effortlessly. Looking back, I honestly think I would be a different person if my mum hadn’t turned a dress into a life lesson I carry with me today.

If we complained about not having what another kid did, we’d hear something like I don’t care what so-and-so got for his birthday, you are not getting a car for your birthday or a lavish sweet-16 party. We had to earn our allowance (零用钱) by doing chores around the house. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. I can still remember how long it took to polish the legs of our dining table. Sometimes, I couldn’t even contain my envy of Chloe, a neighbourhood girl, always beautifully dressed, whose parents satisfied her with almost every need.

One day, my mother drove me downtown to buy some household necessities-and there it was in the shopping window. Pink, lovely, delicately trimmed (镶嵌着) with lace, the dress winked (眨眼) at me and I knew I had to have it. “It’s beautiful, ” my mother said when I pointed it out to her. “What a beautiful dress! ”

I tried to hide my desire at first. But then I guess I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Mum, please get it? I’ll do anything, but I need that dress. I love it. Please?”

I was desperate.

“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back, “if you save up, you could buy this yourself.”

“By the time I make enough, it’ll be sold!”

“There might be a way,” she said.

And so our paying plan unfolded. Mum bought the dress and put it safely in some hiding place where I couldn’t find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing savings increased by extra work. Weeks later, I counted and jumped for joy. Oh, I made it! I finally had the exact amount we’d agreed on Having put on my dress, I flew to school like a bird. However, the unthinkable happened.

The moment I arrived at the school gate, Chloe appeared in exactly the same dress.

Hearing me crying loudly, Mum gently pushed open the door.

When the last customer left KFC, it was already 10:30 pm. Adam, an 18-year-old college student, dragged himself home. He had been working at KFC for over a month that summer vacation.

Entering his room, Adam found his younger brother Bill sitting on the edge of his bed with an uneasy expression on his face.

“Sorry, Adam. I … I did something wrong,” Bill sprang up and said nervously.

“What is it?”

“This afternoon I sneaked (溜) out for a ride on your motorcycle and accidentally hit our neighbor Osman Brook’s car. I was so scared and I … I hurried home in panic.”

“Is the car seriously damaged?”

“The left headlight got broken.”

“It’s truly your fault and it’s really dangerous to ride a motorcycle at your age. Besides, it’s illegal,” Adam raised his voice, obviously annoyed. Hearing this, Bill lowered his head and bit his lips hard.

“Anyway, it’s no use crying over spilt milk. I will deal with it tomorrow. Now you go to bed and have a good sleep.”

The next morning when Adam got up, Bill was still sleeping soundly. Adam was more determined about what he ought to do as an elder brother.

After breakfast, Adam took out all the money he had earned and went out of the house with it. In the yard he saw his motorcycle, on whose side the scratches (划痕) were clearly visible. Adam shook his head and sighed slightly. Then he squared his shoulders and quickened his pace to Osman’s house.

When he arrived, he was welcomed by Osman’s wife Mary, who told him that Osman had gone to the garage to have his car repaired.

“I have something important to tell him. Can I wait until he comes back?” Adam requested eagerly.

“Of course. He should be home soon,” Mary invited Adam in, served him a cup of coffee and began chatting with him.

After half an hour, the door opened and in came Osman. Having said hello to each other, Osman and Adam both sat down on the sofa.

Adam cleared his throat and began to speak.

Just then, there came a knock at the door.

April Fools’ Day

Nat woke early and jumped out of bed. Today was the best day of the year for him. Nat loved to play tricks, and today was April Fools’ Day.

Some of Nat’s tricks were big hits. Last year, he short-sheeted his sister’s bed. She couldn’t understand what was going on and started to think that her legs must have grown much longer during the day. When she realized what had happened, she laughed her head off.

Some of Nat’s tricks were not so successful. Mom didn’t think finding a furry toy mouse in the fridge was humorous at all. After she calmed down a bit, she said, “That’s it! There’s a ban on Nat tricks for two weeks.”

Nat was also the class clown. He was always making jokes in class. He liked it when he made the other kids laugh. Since it was April Fools’ Day, he felt like he had to come up with something really good to provide his classmates with some really good entertainment.

For that, Nat thought long and hard before he came up with his brilliant idea. He bought two toy frogs which were made out of green plastic and looked very realistic. Nat knew just the trick he would play on his classmates.

Nat arrived at school early. To succeed in his plan, he needed to get into the classroom before anyone else. Nat’s class had a rainforest terrarium (饲养皿). It had plants, insects, and three frogs in it. Nat’s idea was to pretend that the frogs had escaped. He knew that Ms. Lopez, his teacher, wasn’t afraid of frogs but several of his classmates, including himself, were.

Nat slipped into the classroom. Good! There was nobody here. He put one of the toy frogs on the floor, near the terrarium and the other on his friend Stacey’s desk. Nat knew that Stacey really didn’t not like frogs. Also, she played a great trick on him last April Fools’ Day. To make his trick more convincing, Nat pushed the lid of the terrarium open. Then he rushed off to morning gathering.

When the students got back to class, no one noticed the toy frogs at first.

Nat realized that he had opened the lid of the terrarium.

Philip found himself at a crossroads. Although Mrs. Ford, his head teacher, appreciated his stories, the label of “nerd” (呆子) from his classmates cast a shadow over his passion for writing. Discouraged and feeling that his writing served no purpose in the eyes of others, he thought about giving it up.

One day, during recess (课间), as Philip was absentmindedly taking down some random events of the day, he heard an anxious voice calling out for help. He put down his pen, glanced out the window, and saw a gathering of people near the playground fence. With concern, he walked over and joined the crowd.

In the centre of the crowd was Robin, a sporty boy in the class, who was injured on the knee and bleeding heavily. Robin was playing kickball when the ball unexpectedly shot over the playground fence, landing in the old park next to the school. As he ran to get the ball, he tripped over the overgrown weeds, his left knee crashing into a broken bench. Robin’s face paled, perhaps from both pain of the bleeding knee and his panic. Concerned classmates surrounded him, and Mrs. Ford hurried to the scene, providing some initial care before sending him to see the doctor.

Amidst the lively discussion of the crowd, Philip absorbed the information that the park had been abandoned for ages. Turning his attention to the park, he was astonished at its awful state. Overrun with weeds, broken benches, rusty sports facilities, and scattered rubbish, the park was practically a dangerous place for students.

Philip was probably a nerd when involved in reading or writing, but he was never ignorant of the world around him. He felt a strong desire to do something, and the only way he could think of was to pick up his pen.

The next day witnessed Philip getting down to work.

As the article spread, offers of help poured in.