“Well，we're in our new house.Let's get a new pet to go along with it，”Mrs.Brown said to her husband.

“That sounds like a very good idea，”he answered.“Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper？”

“Let's go to the animal shelter.Many pets there need homes.Since tomorrow is Saturday，we can both go，”she said.

The next morning the Browns met Mr.Snow at the animal shelter.“We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes，”Mr.Snow said，“So I need to ask you some questions.”

After they talked for a while，the Browns decided to get a small dog.It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard.A small dog would bark（吹）and warn them if someone tried to break intotheir house.After Mr.Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care，they chose one and wanted to take her home right away.But the animal doctor hadn’t examined her yet.So Mr.Snow told them to return on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter.The animal doctor said，“Shadow has had all of her shots（预防针）.She will be healthy.”The Browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home.

How do kids behave when there are no adults around？Donette Mabes from New Jersey says，"You never really know because you're not watching them all the time. "

Donette had always just thought her son was a troublemaker-until recently，when 13-year-old Gavin Mabes and some middle school friends arrived at a skate park. The park was empty except for little Carter Brunell，who was there with his mother celebrating his fifth birthday.

Carter is on the autism spectrum（自闭症）. Big groups of older kids can make him nervous，so his mom，Kristen，was fully prepared to get him out of there. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Gavin led the way and the others followed. The only surprise was that Gavin didn't start trouble. He started a friendship. "Gavin is just going around with Carter and making him feel special. And the rest of his friends then started singing Happy Birthday to him，"Kristen said，“That really blew me away，because I just saw the kindness in the world. And I wanted Carter to have a good birthday. ”

It was such a great birthday, and such a kind deed, even the local police department responded. They decided to hold a pizza party for them. But here's the best part: Since their first meeting, Gavin and his friends have continued to play with Carter.

As for the moms, this was the sweetest moment. Knowing your kid treats others kindly is better than seeing your kid treated kindly by others, even when you're not watching. "I was just so proud of him. He's good," Donette said.

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle. After a while the whistle blew. It was like throwing a basket of chum into a tank of sharks. I told my wife that if we obtained a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

As the boxes of bikes began to gradually decrease, I saw my opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of them. I lifted it off and suddenly felt some mild resistance. I looked up to see one of the largest men I had ever seen in my life. Frightening was not enough to describe his presence. He was decorated with numerous leather belts with metal buttons around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos (纹身) were an obvious passion of his.

I started to loosen the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.”

My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home. All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a human heart in a simple act of a stranger broke all preconceived notions (先入为主) I may have had. I will never forget it.