Holding a lot of magazines in hand, Jordan stopped in front of a house where people seldom went. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glare at them.

Jordan knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. His parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.

Dust found the boy standing in front of the door and hesitating about what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said impatiently. Jordan was very afraid but he had a quota(份额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he gathered up his courage and said “Uh, sir, I am selling these magazines and uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me.”

The old man just stared at the boy without a word.

Jordan could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines(小雕像) on the fireplace mantle(壁炉的外枢). “Do you collect dogs?” Jordan asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have.” Jordan then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.

“Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No, boy. I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”

Jordan was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.

Jordan headed back down to the old man’s house with the figurine.

From that day on something changed inside the old man.

Jack went to the swimming pool quite early this morning. He was hoping that there would be another swimmer, but not his tiresome neighbor Mrs. Wilson, who was not popular among teenagers like him. However, when he got to the pool, Mrs. Wilson was the only swimmer there, floating on her back in the deep end.

He waved at her half-heartedly before diving in and doing a few freestyle laps. When he stopped, Mrs. Wilson said, “Great job if you were doing the breaststroke (蛙泳). You have to keep your hands cupped the whole time for the freestyle stroke. And you’re not dropping your head enough to breathe properly. You should see how my grandson Little Tommy swims…”

“Grrr…!” Jack thought. He dived underwater and swam away. After a few strokes, just out of curiosity, he cupped his hands the way Mrs. Wilson had advised. His stroke did seem smoother. He tried lowering his head a bit, which seemed to make him faster.

He swam to the shallow end of the pool. Maybe having Mrs. Wilson around wasn’t so bad. He wondered how she knew so much about swimming techniques. He glanced at where she’d been floating, but she was no longer there. Suddenly he noticed a large, bright mass on the bottom of the pool. He stared at it. Not it—her—Mrs. Wilson. She wasn’t moving! “Oh no!” Jack cried. Mrs. Wilson looked like she was unconscious…or dead!

“Help! Help! A drowning woman!” Jack yelled. He didn’t know whether anyone heard him. It was only a few minutes past six o'clock. Nobody seemed to be awake or outside.

He’d have to rescue Mrs. Wilson himself. Luckily, he’d learned a little about first aid and CPR (心肺复苏术) from a class in Oklahoma. He dived under the water and swam toward her as fast as he could. But when he got closer to her still body, he wasn’t sure what to do. Mrs. Wilson was so large. How could he possibly lift her? Jack wrapped one arm around her neck, paddling up through the water and kicking with all his strength to the top.

Just then he spotted a man in a business suit passing by.

Mrs. Wilson lay still, and Jack kept pressing.