Ms. Freebody liked her job as a teacher. She paid attention to every pupil of hers and special attention to kids who needed extra care, like Tammy Harper.

Tammy belonged to a poor family, and he was hard-working but failed in all subjects. To her shock, one day, Freebody saw Tammy doing something strange. He was picking up several dollar bills fallen off the floor and stuffing them back into his locker (锁柜). The teacher’s heart sank. “Where did he get all that money?” was the first question that crossed her worried mind.

The whole school knew Tammy came from a humble background, so the money certainly wasn’t something he got from home. Besides, the boy was so poor that he couldn’t even afford new clothes and shoes. “Oh dear, this child…” Freebody’s heart shuddered (发抖) to think where Tammy could’ve gotten all that money. She couldn’t just turn a blind eye to it as she cared about him. He was a little boy, after all.

Forcing a smile on her face, she decided to approach him. He was busy picking up the bills, so she gave him a helping hand, and he seemed terrified. “Ms. Freebody...You...This is my money!” he said, and Freebody didn’t say anything. She picked up the last of the fallen bills, folded her arms across her chest, and then spoke, “And would you mind telling me where you got them, child?”

Freebody noticed the tears welling up in Tammy’s eyes. “Can... Can you please give me that money back, Ms. Freebody? I …I need it. Please?”

“There you go,” she said, extending the bills to him, and he quickly stuffed them in his looker. Then he said a small “thank you”.

But Freebody wanted to get to the bottom of the matter. “Where did you get that money, Tummy? Are you in any trouble? Did someone force you to get into the wrong kind of things…like stealing?”

“My dad… My younger sister Miley wants to go to school,” Tammy whispered.

Hearing that, Freebody said, “Take me to your home. I’ll talk to your dad.”

My niece Anna is a lovely girl with a gold heart. We live quite near to each other. She would join us on weekends or holidays and do some little things for people in need around us. Last summer, 12-year-old Anna was staying with us for a couple of days. She was remembering some acts of kindness that we did together when she was less than five years old. We talked about how much things have changed, and with the pandemic, how difficult it would be to do so many of those things, especially when it comes to strangers.

The next day, I needed something for painting from the downtown area and happened to take Anna with me. It was a hot afternoon. Trees along the street stood still under the burning sun. People with or without masks passing by seemed bored or spiritless. We were walking on the street when we heard a beautiful male voice singing a very soulful song. We turned around to find a middle-aged man sitting on a street corner with his guitar, a bowl placed in front him. Cars raced by and some pedestrians just cast a look at him and continued their walk. Then, an old couple paused and seated themselves on a bench at a distance listening to his music.

After finishing our shopping, we happened to sit at an outdoor dining restaurant across from him on the other side of the street. My niece was deeply touched by his singing. “Aunt, I love his singing so much, but how blue it sounds! It seems to be telling a sad story.” The girl said softly. There were even tears in her big eyes. Seeing how moved she was with his music, at the end of our meal, I bought a freshly made chicken leg. I put it in her hand with a ten-dollar bill and asked her to walk across the street and do what she wanted. “Really?” she hugged me, bright eyes sparkling with surprise and joy.

She headed over and as she approached, the man was just finishing a song.

Last weekend my niece and I were enjoying a live concert downtown when my niece let out a cry in excitement.

Hearing that one neighbor had just welcomed a new litter, Allen, a 9- year- old boy, rushed to see the newborn cats. However, during his visit, Allen noticed one of the cats wasn’t moving due to disability on its hind (后面的) legs. So while the other little cats were exploring their surroundings, this one stayed behind.

Allen was significantly affected by the scene of this lonesome cat. He returned home and started to wonder whether he could do anything to help. When the boy told his mother about that, the mother recalled a video about pet wheelchairs.

They finally found the video on YouTube, in which an animal lover, Addy, shared a heartwarming and innovative project: building a wheelchair for a pet cat with mobility issues due to a hind- leg injury. As a caring pet owner, Addy took viewers through the DIY process of making a custom wheelchair to aid her cat’s movement and improve its quality of life. She began by measuring the cat and based on the measurements, cut the plastic pipes to make a frame (支架). Then she connected the pipes and attached the wheels to the back end of the frame. Finally, she added a harness (保护带) to ensure it was fit and comfortable for the cat.

Seeing the cat in the wheelchair moving around happily with the support, Allen thought that would be the best option for the little cat.

But the wheelchair in the video seemed too big and too heavy for a newborn cat. Where could he find the suitable materials?

His mother unearthed an old bag from the cupboard, whose belt was just fine for the the harness. As for the frame, they searched the storage room in their house and found an old umbrella, whose frame provided enough thin iron bars that were durable and light. But they were difficult for him to cut off. Allen thought his father could help. However, where could they find the small wheels? (320 words)

Allen suddenly spotted a familiar item in the corner of the storage room.

Together, they built a tiny wheelchair for the little cat.

There was a beaver(河狸) living in the forest, who had a big flat tail and large teeth. Beaver went grocery shopping for food every day. The Animal Grocery Store was a big hole in the biggest tree of the forest, where many animals went to get food that they needed. There were three store assistants serving customers: Goat, Squirrel and Rabbit.

One day Beaver came into the Animal Grocery Store. “What should I eat today, Goat?” Beaver asked Goat, who was sweeping the floor.

Goat stopped and answered, “I recommend that you should buy some big, red apples and a pear. They are fresh.”

Beaver bought two red apples and a pear. When Beaver got home, he ate the apples and pear. But he was not happy. He was sad but he did not know why. He felt like something was missing.

Beaver went to the grocery store the next day.

“Hello, Beaver. How are you?” asked Squirrel, another shop assistant who was working behind the counter that day.

“I’m good now, but when I got home from your store last time, I was sad. I don’t know why,” said Beaver, “I just felt very depressed.”

Squirrel was worried about the food that Goat had sold to Beaver the day before. He asked, “Did you buy any bad food last time?”

“No. The food was good. I like apples and pears, but I just wanted something different. I don’t know why. What do you recommend?”

Squirrel smiled and said, “Oh, I recommend that you should buy a bag of nuts and some corn. They are healthy.”

Beaver bought a bag of nuts and some corn. When he got home, he ate all of the nuts and corn. But he was not very happy again. Beaver did not know what was wrong. Why was he always sad when he came home from grocery shopping? He had bought good fruits, nuts and corn, but he felt like something was missing.

The next day, Beaver went to the grocery store again.

The next day, Beaver went to the grocery store, feeling very happy.