Ella loved her new life in Skagway, Alaska, except for one thing-Grandmother wasn’t happy.

In Kansas, Ella went to Grandmother’s house every day after school, and they baked or gardened or sewed(缝纫). Then Papa announced he’d gotten a job in Alaska. She protested for weeks but finally decided to go too. Ella was overjoyed. She couldn’t imagine living any where without Grandmother.

By autumn, they were in Skagway. Ella had never known so much excitement. Grandmother, however, didn’t share Ella’s enthusiasm. As winter had set in, Grandmother mostly stayed inside and complained about the cold.

“I wish you were happy,” Ella whispered. “I wish I had a garden of sunflowers peeking through my window right now,” Grandmother said.

Ella worried that if Grandmother didn’t cheer up soon, she might return to Kansas. So she went to her friend Sara who had lived in Skagway with her Aunt Grace for three years. Ella asked her if sunflowers could grow here. “Maybe,” Sara said. “Let’s ask my aunt.” Ella liked Aunt Grace. She reminded her of how Grandmother used to be in Kansas.

Ella explained her problem and Aunt Grace told her sunflowers could grow here only in summer. “Maybe there’s another way,” Aunt Grace said. “We can make your grandmother some sunflower quilt blocks(几何拼布)that will be cheery and warm.”

Ella chose the brightest fabrics in Grandmother’s scrap bag and brought them to Sara’s house. Every afternoon Ella, Sara, and Aunt Grace sewed sunflower quilt blocks. It was slow going but enjoyable.The finished blocks reminded her of Grandmother’s garden in Kansas. It was fun to talk with Sara while they sewed, and Aunt Grace told them stories about when she was young. They always took a break for tea and cookies,too.

Lately Ella hadn’t spent much time with Grandmother. She worried that the quilt wouldn’t be finished soon enough. Meanwhile, Grandmother seemed sadder and sadder, always talking about her home and friends in Kansas. Ella wished she could tell Grandmother about the quilt, but she wanted to surprise her.

One day when Ella came home, Grandmother was crying.

When Aunt Grace opened the door, Ella explained why Grandmother was there.

John and Nancy were left with their grandmother Linda after their mom was hospitalized for illness. They were curious about when they could finally see their mom.

“The hospital won’t allow her to leave until all of her medical bills are settled. I have given your mom all I could, but there’s still a large amount that we need to pay off,” Linda explained. John and Nancy missed their mom a lot and wanted her to come back home as soon as possible.

“We can pick the lemons from the garden and make fresh juice out of them,” she suggested. Her brother smiled, “That’s a great idea, Nancy!” From then on, John and Nancy stayed outside the entire afternoon after school selling lemonade. A week went by, they only managed to earn ten dollars.

On Saturday morning, they sat on the side of the yard, looking worried. After a couple of seconds, their silent pondering (沉思) was interrupted by loud police sirens. “Hey, fellas!” one of the policemen greeted. “My colleague Jacob said that his neighbor had a lemonade stand in front of their yard.” The two children nodded. “I’m sorry, officer. But I didn’t think there would be anything wrong with that. Besides, we didn’t earn a lot,” John tried to explain.

“Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble. I bought a cup of it from you two the other day, remember? I asked why you were selling lemonade, and you told me it was to raise funds to get your mom out of the hospital,” Jacob interrupted upon seeing John and Nancy looked nervous.

“I told my friends over here, and we decided we wanted to help. Come to the back of the police car, and we have something to show you,” Jacob told the kids. They slowly made their way to the back of one of the police cars and saw a nicely-painted wooden lemonade stand. “That’s beautiful!” Nancy said in surprise.

“There’s a big food festival downtown today, and we got you a stand.” Jacob said. “Why not go there and give it a shot?”

There was a large crowd eager to buy lemonade.

Molly was a single mother of two. She was new here so she didn’t interact much with her neighbors. However, she’d heard a lot of rumors (谣言) about her 82-year-old neighbor, Mr. Palmer. Some neighbors said he was spiritually sick. However, when she first saw Mr. Palmer, she did feel he was strange with his lonely lifestyle.

One day, Molly ran into Mr. Palmer. He was standing by a signal light and glancing around even after the light went green. Molly realized he needed help to cross the street, so she approached him. “Mr. Palmer. I’m Molly. I’ve only lately moved here. Can I help you?” she asked gently. The old man smiled at her. “Oh, Molly! Yes! Would you mind helping me cross the street?” “Of course not, Mr. Palmer,” she smiled. As they reached the other end of the street, Mr. Palmer thanked her over and over again. After that, Molly realized he wasn’t a strange man but just a lonely soul misjudged by everyone.

Days later, Molly got a new job and was just on a trial period, so she was too busy to babysit her kids, Ben aged 6, who had got epilepsy (癫痫) and Adam aged 4, when she was sometimes on the night shift.

One day, when she was returning home, she noticed Mr. Palmer sitting on a resting chair on his doorway. She stopped by and greeted him. During the chat, Mr. Palmer said he suffered from insomnia (失眠症), and only slept late in the morning for 5 to 6 hours at a time. Molly figured she could ask Mr. Palmer for help to babysit her kids while she was on her night shifts. When she asked him about it, he was happy to help.

When Mr. Palmer arrived at Molly’s house to babysit the kids, they got along well with him. Molly was relieved to see her children happy around Mr. Palmer each time and thought her kids were in safe hands while she left for work.

However, one day, when Molly got home from work early in the morning, her children and Mr. Palmer were nowhere to be seen.

The call was from an unknown number, and she was informed that her son Ben was in hospital.

For 19-year-old Stuart’s father, Peter, his family was his strength and pride.“Together we achieve but divided, we fall,” he often told his four sons, and Stuart was the youngest. Besides family, there was something else that Peter, 56, cherished and believed kept his family united and strong. It was his treasured farm that was passed on from generation to generation.

One day, however, his 19-year-old son, Stuart, approached his dad and told him he wanted his share of the fortune so that he could move to the city and start living his life alone. It was a terrible blow to Peter, who never wished to see his family break.

“But, you don’t know much about city life. I am afraid you’d wander like a lost lamb. This is your family, and we will always support you,” Peter disappointedly said as soon as Stuart told him his intention to leave the house.

“Dad, I’m nineteen, and I have heard plenty about the city from my friends. I don’t want to waste my time and energy farming with you. I have a purpose in life, and I don’t want to become a farmer like you.”

Peter tried changing his mind. “Son, I can give you your share of the fortune. But dear, this is too early to decide.” However, Stuart insisted on going out, so Peter had to give him his share.

Three years went by. Neither Peter nor his family heard anything about Stuart. One day, when the family least expected it, they saw a young man walk toward them. As he neared, they saw his old and dirty clothes and a face that had lost its charm. It was Stuart! Peter was shocked. “Daddy, I need your help ... I’m hungry,” Stuart cried.

“Oh, my dear ... Please sit down first,” Peter said and brought some tea and bread for him. Then Peter asked why he was in such a poor situation.

Stuart said he took the money and went to the city.

Overwhelmed by (被震撼)their love, Stuart was moved to tears.

Marie had always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer and was preparing for a high-level dance competition which was aimed to draw excellent dancers from all over the country. It was a prestigious (负有盛名的) event, and Marie knew that if she wanted to make a name for herself in the world of ballet, this was her chance. She spent every waking moment practicing, determined to give it her all on the big day.

When the day of the competition arrived, Marie was nervous but excited. She had trained hard for this moment for years and felt confident in her well-prepared dancing. As she walked onto the stage, the bright lights blinded her momentarily, but she quickly regained her composure and began to dance.

The music swirled around her as she moved gracefully across the stage. Her movements were fluid and precise, each step perfectly executed. The audience watched in awe as Marie danced, completely lost in the moment.

But then, it happened. During a particularly difficult jump, Marie landed awkwardly on her ankle and felt a sharp pain shoot up her leg. She tried to ignore it and continue dancing, but the pain was too much. She fell to the floor, clutching her leg in agony.

Paramedics rushed onto the stage to tend to her, and Marie was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was devastating: she had torn several ligaments (韧带) in her ankle and would need extensive surgery to repair the damage. Marie was held by desperate shock. She had worked so hard to get where she was, and now it seemed like all of her dreams were slipping away. For weeks, Marie was confined to a wheelchair, unable to move without assistance. She felt helpless and alone, wondering if she would ever be able to dance again.

One day, she heard a knock on her hospital room door and in came Jenny, her toughest opponent in the dance competition.

Slowly, she felt more open to accepting Jenny’s help and support.