In a coastal village named Seaford, lived a courageous young woman named Amelia. Amelia was known throughout Seaford for her adventurous nature. From the moment she could walk, she would eagerly run towards the crashing waves, feeling the sand between her toes and the cool spray of the ocean mist on her face. She was a woman with a strong will and possessed a heart full of kindness. Amelia’s love for the ocean was intense, and she spent most of her days exploring the beautiful beaches and sparkling waters that surrounded her house.

One sunny morning, while Amelia was walking along the shore, she noticed a group of restless seagulls abnormally circling above the crashing waves. Their unusual calls echoed (回) through the air. Concerned for their well-being, she followed their flight pattern, her instincts guiding her toward danger.

As she approached a towering cliff, Amelia gasped in horror. On a narrow ledge (岩架), high above the violent waves, was a young dolphin trapped in a thick fishing net. Its shiny body shone under the golden rays of the sun, but its freedom was cruelly limited by the trap. With each struggle, the net tightened around its delicate body, leaving painful marks on its skin. Its tail flapped helplessly, each movement a request for help, while its desperate cries for assistance echoed through the air.

A sense of urgency filled her, pushing her forward with determination and resolve. Realizing that time was tight, Amelia knew she had to act instantly to free this innocent creature from its difficult position before it submitted to exhaustion or the force of the tides.

Sacrificing Hair for a Friend

My seven-year-old daughter Sue looked frightened with tears in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl of medicine, which tasted so bitter. “Sue, why don’t you take the medicine? Just for Dad’s sake, dear.” Sue softened a bit. “Dad, if I take the medicine, will you give me whatever I ask for?” “Oh sure, darling.” I replied. “Promise?” “Promise.”

Slowly and painfully, she finished taking the medicine and then looked at me with her eyes wide with expectation. “Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!”

“A girl child having her head shaved off? Why don’t you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head,” I said. “I do not want anything else,” Sue said with finality. “Dad, you promised to give me whatever I ask for. Was it not you who told me a story yesterday, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?”

I had to give in.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my daughter walking towards her classroom with her head clean-shaven. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy got out of a car, and shouted, “Sue, please wait for me!”

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. Then a lady got out of the car, and said to me, “Sir, that boy is my son Mike, and your daughter visited him last week. Mike is suffering from leukemia. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school for fear that he would be made fun of by the schoolmates.”

“Your daughter is great indeed!” the lady continued.

Sue’s story spread quickly and soon many other children showed their care for Mike in various ways.

If there was one thing that Ellen Rafferty hated more than driving, it was driving in the rain. This evening, on her way back from work, Ellen saw a little child standing by the side of the road in the pouring rain. So she hit the brakes sharply, and pulled over by the side of the road next to the child.

It was a little boy, maybe four or five, and he was shaking and hugging himself. As soon as he saw Ellen, his face. brightened. “Hello!” he said,“Are you my mommy?”

“No,”Ellen said in the icy rain. “I’m not! What are you doing here? Where are your parents?”

“Oh,” the boy said disappointingly. “I don’t know where my mom is. She left me on the road when it was raining, and I think she must be looking for me.”

“What’s your name? Where do you live?”

“I’m David. I live at the Doris Farmer Institute for Children.”

“The orphanage(孤儿院)?” asked Ellen. “But that is far!” Just then, there was a terrible flash of lightning and even more rain poured down as thunder rolled across the sky. “Come on,”Ellen said. “I’m taking you home. I’ll call the orphanage to come and fetch you.” Ellen took the boy home.

She didn’t quite know what to do with him, so she turned on a heater and wrapped him with a blanket. Then she called the orphanage and told them that she found one of their children, who named David, on the road. But the woman on the phone said it was too late and they couldn’t come to fetch him.

Sighing,Ellen hung up the phone and looked at the boy. At the same time, her cat Gandalf walked in and rubbed himself against Ellen’s legs. Ellen picked the cat up and kissed his head. “Come on, my baby,” she said softly, “Mommy’s gonna feed you...” When she looked up, she was shocked by the longing in David’s eyes,

“I wish I was your cat,”he said sadly.

The next day, Ellen got into her car again and drove to the orphanage to ask about David.

Belinda, like many of my students, had grown up "street smart", with very little use for schools and books. On the first day of school, she called Rory a very bad word, so I kept her in at break. I made her wash all the desks and pick up all the garbage lying around. "That'll teach her," I thought. Belinda, though, was smarter than me. "I like cleaning. Mr. Brassell," she said. "Can I do this every day?"

On the third day, I caught Belinda fighting with Jose. I walked over to their table and asked what the problem was. "She keeps calling me a bad word," Jose said. Belinda wrote standards after school while I gave her another lecture on behavior. The next day, I caught her fighting with Jose again. I shouted angrily across the room to ask why they were fighting. Again, Jose accused Belinda of calling him a bad word. Belinda had finally earned a home visit. I told her that I would walk her home after school and talk to her mother in person.

And for the first time all the week, Belinda became silent. For the rest of the day, she sat still in her chair, even with kids teasing her. "It's not going to work, young lady," I told her. "You already earned a walk home, and behaving now isn't going to change that."

When the final bell sounded, I took Belinda by the hand, and we began the two-block walk to her house. Belinda took me through the gate to her yard and she went inside to get her mother while I waited outside.

Where have you been, girl?" a voice screamed. Babies cried loudly inside.

"My teacher's here," Belinda said softly, and I still couldn't see inside through the front door.

"Hello," a deep voice barked. Then the door opened, and a rather skinny, short woman walked out.

"Uh, I'm Mr. Brassell, Belinda's teacher."

"What'd she done this time?"

I suddenly decided to try a different approach.

The next day at school, Belinda gave my knees a big hug.