Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of the 5th grade class on the very first day she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible because there in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. She paid no attention to Teddy.

However, when she read his file, she was in surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around." His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates. But he is troubled because his mother has a deadly illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tried to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest." Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class.” By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She thought that she could make a difference.

She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with pretty ribbons, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson opened it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children stared to laugh when she found a stone bracelet(手镯)with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.

Mrs. Thompson, her voice choked up with tears, thanked her students for their presents.

Ten years later, Teddy invited Mrs. Thompson to attend his wedding as groom's mother.

Jennifer, a middle school student, was in Mr Green’s class. After only a month at school, she began to be home on a regular basis asking for plenty of crayons, paper, etc. At first, her mother, Sophia, just dutifully provided whatever she needed, never questioning her.

After ongoing requests for the items for several weeks, Sophia became concerned and asked her, “Jennifer, what are you doing with your stationery (文具)?” However, Jennifer would always respond with an answer that satisfied Sophia.

One day, after supplying the same things to Jennifer, Sophia seriously asked her once again, “Jennifer! What is exactly going on with your stationery?” Knowing her excuses would no longer work, Jennifer bent her head and kept silence. With her mind filled with confusion, Sophia lifted her daughter’s chin and looked into her eyes, asking, “What is wrong? Are you making money by reselling school supplies?” Sophia waited for what seemed like a long time for Jennifer to answer.

“Mom,” Jennifer said, “I’ve known a boy, called Jack, who is a student in the nearby school sponsored by a charity. He is an immigrant and has two brothers. He doesn’t have enough stationery to do his work. He only has two crayons to color with, and his art paper is messy. I have been putting the new stationery you bought me in his desk before the others came in, so he still doesn’t know I gave it to him. Our teacher, Mr Green, always told us to be an honest person. I knew I didn’t do it. Mom, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to tell you a lie, but I didn’t want anyone to know it was me.”

Sophia stood there in disbelief. Jennifer had took on the role of an adult and tried to hide her good intentions. Sophia hugged Jennifer tightly, saying, “Baby, I will never get mad at you for wanting to help someone, but why didn’t you just come and tell me?” This time, Sophia did not have to wait for her quick answer, but decided to act.

The next day, Sophia told Mr Green what Jennifer had said, and invited him to visit Jack’s family together.

The acts of Sophia and Mr Green unexpectedly set off a wave of donations in Jennifer’s school.