When an ice cream sundae cost much less, a boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. �How much is an ice cream sundae?�

�Fifty cents,� replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. �How much is a dish of plain ice cream?� he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table, and the waitress was impatient. �Thirty-five cents,� she said angrily.

The little boy again counted the coins. �I�ll have the plain ice cream.�

The waitress brought the ice cream and walked away. The boy finished, paid the cashier, and departed. When the waitress came back, she swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies--her tip.

President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown to dine at the White House. Worried about their table manners, the guests decided to do everything that Coolidge did. This strategy succeeded, until coffee was served. The president poured his coffee into the saucer. The guests did the same. Coolidge added sugar and cream. His guests did, too. Then Coolidge bent over and put his saucer on the floor for the cat.

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting the ball and bat. �I�m the greatest baseball player in the world,� he said proudly. Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said to himself, �I�m the greatest baseball player ever!� He swung at the ball again, and again he missed. He paused a moment to examine the bat and ball carefully. Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, �I�m the greatest baseball player who ever lived.� He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.

�Wow!� he exclaimed. �What a pitcher!�

Teacher Debbie Moon�s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different color hair than the other family members.

One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl named Jocelynn Jay said, �I know all about adoptions because I was adopted,�

�What does it mean to be adopted?� asked another child.

�It means,� said Jocelynn, �that you grew in your mommy�s heart instead of her tummy.�

In a small town in Spain, a man named Jorge had a bitter argument with his young son, Paco. The next day Jorge discovered that Paco�s bed was empty- he had run away from home.

Overcome with remorse, Jorge searched his soul and realized that his son was the most important to him than anything else. He wanted to start over. Jorge went to a well-known store in the center or town and posted a large sign that read, �Paco, come home. I love you. Meet me here tomorrow morning.�

The next morning Jorge went to the store, where he found no less than seven young boys named Paco who had also run away from home. They were all answering the call for love, hoping it was their father inviting them home with open arms.

A little girl whose parents had died lived with her grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom.

One night there was a fire in the house and the grandmother perished while trying to rescue the child. The fires spread quickly, and the first floor was engulfed in flames.

Neighbors called the fire department, then stood helplessly by, unable to enter the house because flames blocked all the entrances. The little girl appeared at an upstairs window, crying for help, just as word spread among the crowd that firefighters would be delayed a few minutes because they were all at another fire.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder, put it up against the side of the house and disappeared inside. When he appeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He delivered the child to the waiting arms below, then disappeared into the night.

An investigation revealed that the child had no living relatives, and weeks later a meeting was held in the town hall to determine who would take the child into their home and bring her up.

A teacher said she would raise the child. She pointed out she could ensure her a good education. A farmer offered her an upbringing on his farm. He pointed out that living on a farm was healthy and satisfying. Others spoke, giving their reasons why it was to the child�s advantage to live with them.

Finally, the town�s richest resident arose and said, �I can give this child all the advantages that you have mentioned here, plus money and everything money can buy.�

Throughout all this, the child remained silent, her eyes on the floor. �Does anyone else want to speak?� asked the meeting chairman. A man came forward from the back of the hall. His gait was slow and he seemed in pain. When he got to the front of the room, he stood directly before the little girl and held out his arms. The crowd gasped. His hand and arms were terribly scarred.

The child cried out, �This is the man who rescued me!� With a leap, she threw her arms around the man�s neck, holding on for dear life, just as she had that fateful night. She buried her face on his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled at him.

�This meeting is adjorned,� said the chairman.

A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, �Do you think I�ll find Big Bird in here?� The little girl stayed silent.

Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, �Do you think I�ll find the Cookie Monster down there?� Again, the little girl was silent.

Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As she listened to her heart beat, he asked, �Do you think I�ll hear Barney in there?�

�Oh, no!� the little girl replied. �Jesus is my heart. Barney�s on my underpants.�

As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-baseline, I asked one of the boys what the score was.

�We�re behind 14 to nothing,� he answered with a smile.

�Really,� I said. �I have to say you don�t look very discouraged.�

�Discouraged?� the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. �Why should we be discouraged? We haven�t been up to bat yet.�

Whenever I�m dissappointed with my spot in my life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he�d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. �Guess what Mum,� he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me: �I�ve been chosen to clap and cheer.�

A lesson in �heart� is my little, 10 year old daughter, Sarah, who was born with a muscle missing in her foot and wears a brace all the time. She came home one beautiful spring day to tell me she had competed in �field day�- that�s where they have lots of races and other competitive events.

Because of her leg support, my mind raced as I tried to think of encouragement for my Sarah, things I could say to her about not letting this get her down-but before I could get a word out, she said, �Daddy, I won two of the races!�

I couldn�t believe it! And then Sarah said, �I had an advantage.�