When I was 9 years old, I used to cut grass for Mrs. Long. The elderly lady paid me very little, for she hadn’t much money. But she did promise me, “When Christmas comes, I shall have a present for you.” I spent much time wondering what it would be. The boys I played with had baseball gloves and bicycles and ice skates, and I was so eager to acquire any one of these that I convinced myself that Mrs. Long intended choosing from among them.

“It would hardly be a baseball glove,”I reasoned with myself. “A woman like Mrs. Long wouldn’t know much about baseball.” Since she was old and weak, I also ruled out the bicycle, for how could she handle such a large item.

On my last Saturday at work, Mrs. Long said, “At Christmas you come to the door and collect the present. “ These words clinched(确定)my guess. Since she was going to have the present in her house and handle it herself, unquestionably she was giving me a pair of ice skates.

I became so convinced of this that I could imagine myself upon the skates and the excitement they brought me. As the cold days of November arrived and ice began to form on the ponds, I began to try my luck on the ice. “ Get away from that ice! “ a man shouted. “ It’s not strong enough yet.”

As Christmas approached, it was with difficulty that I restrained (抑制) myself from reporting to Mrs. Long and demanding my present. On the 21st of December, icy weather froze all the ponds so that boys who already had ice skates were able to use them. My longing to possess mine became overpowering.

So the next day I could control myself no longer and presented myself at Mrs. Long’s door. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said with a smile.

She set me in a chair and handed a package to me.

On Christmas morning, I could not wait to open the package.

It was a dark night in Texas when Luke Armstrong drove into town. He had a lot of things on his mind, and he was driving slowly, thinking of solutions to his problems. He had a sick daughter named Anne, and he was worried she would give in to her illness before he could gather enough money to pay for the surgery (外科手术).

Suddenly, he noticed a flashy sports car parked by the side of the road. It looked like it had a broken tire, but Luke couldn’t be too sure. He passed it without giving it a second thought and continued down the road.

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the prone (俯卧的) figure of a human lying just by the side of the road. “What is it?” he said to himself and his truck stopped beside the figure.

It was a woman, and she was weak. Luke immediately knew he had to help her as soon as possible. He noticed her expensive outfit as he lifted her. “Perhaps she owns the fancy car I saw a few minutes ago,” Luke said to himself as he moved her to his truck and turned on the heater.

He noticed that she seemed to be having trouble breathing, so he called 911 and reported his exact location as well as the predicament (困境) he found the woman in.

Soon the ambulance came, and the woman was carried away.

After checking on his daughter the next day, Luke decided to see how the woman he rescued was feeling. He had been told she was getting treated in the same hospital. It turned out that she was no longer in danger. She was very grateful for his kindness. After learning about his daughter, she expressed great sympathy (同情).

Gifts from their hearts

It was Christmas Eve,I was 15 and feeling sad because there was not enough money to buy the dress I wanted.

It was a cold night and there was ice in Pa’s beard when he came in. ''Come on, Elizabeth,''he said,''Dress warm. It's cold out.''

I was upset. Not only wasn’t I getting the dress; now Pa was dragging me out in the cold.I put on my coat and boots, and Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door. Something was up.

Outside, I was even more upset. There, in front of the house, was the work team, already fixed to the big sled（运输雪橇）. Whatever we were going to do wasn't going to be a quick job.

I reluctantly climbed up beside Pa, he cold already biting at me.We pulled in front of the woodshed and started loading wood-the wood we'd spent all summer pulling down from the mountain an all fall sawing(锯)into blocks and spitting.

Finally I asked,"Pa, what are you doing?"

"Have you been by Mrs.Clark's lately?"he asked.

Mrs.Clark lived about two miles down the road from us.Her husband had passed away the year before, leaving her with a son to raise on her own.

“Yeah,” I said. “Why?”

“I rode by just today,” Pa said. “Little Jake was out digging around in the woodpile, trying to find chips(碎屑). They’re out of wood, Elizabeth.”

That was all he said.

“What’s in the little bag?” I asked.

“Shoes. They’re out of shoes.Little Jake had sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile.”