-Thanks.

Zing.

My name is Sydney.

Today I'll be reading a story about acts of kindness, "The Little Things," words by Christian Trimmer, art by Kaylani Juanita.

"A little girl who much preferred the look of three pigtails to two and who loved the way wet sand squished between her toes walked down the dock the day after a mighty storm.

There on the beach were thousands of sea stars washed ashore by violent waves.

She raised one and tossed it back into the ocean.

She quickly picked up another and another and another, ushering each back into the safety of the water.

Just then, an old man who had the habit of misplacing his glasses and also loved the way a wet sand squished between his toes came by.

'What are you doing, little girl?'

he asked.

'What do you mean, what am I doing?'

shouted the girl who liked three pigtails and sand between her toes.

She also had a strong sense of self.

'I'm saving these sea stars.'

'I, uh -- I was -- ' The old man was taken aback.

'It's just there are so many sea stars.

What's the point?

You won't be able to save them all.'

'Of course I can't save them all,' replied the little girl.

She carefully tossed another sea star into the ocean.

'But I saved that one, didn't I?'

The old man had to admit the little girl had a point.

He picked up a star and placed it back into the water.

Later that day, the old man headed to the animal shelter with his grandson, 'What are we doing here, Grandpa?'

asked little boy.

'I'm going to rescue a dog,' the old man replied.

The boy looked around.

There were many animals who needed rescuing after the storm.

'Taking home one dog isn't going to make much of a difference,' he said.

'That may be so,' his grandpa replied, 'but it sure will make a difference to this little guy, don't you think?'

The little boy had to admit his grandpa had a point.

The next day, after a lunch of buttered noodles, the boy headed to his neighbor's house.

There lived an elderly lady who had once been a professional dancer and who loved butterflies.

'I'm here to clean up your garden,' the little boy said to the elderly lady.

The storm had torn up her flower beds and tossed garbage all over her yard.

'That would be lovely,' replied the elderly lady, doing a graceful plié.

As the little boy worked, a teenager who listened to classical music very loudly on her headphones and who just couldn't be bothered happened by.

'Hey, kid,' she said, taking off her headphones.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm cleaning up this lady's yard,' he replied.

'Look around, kid.

The storm messed up this whole block.

What's the point of cleaning one yard?'

asked the teenager, even though the kid was doing a good job -- not that she'd ever say that to him.

The elderly lady chimed in, my yard, young lady,' she said.

'He has lifted my spirits.

You can learn a thing or two from him.'

Elderly lady had a point, though the teenager would never admit that out loud.

Still, she gave the woman a nod and the little boy a high five.

The next morning, the teenager packed an extra lunch and gave it to the homeless man outside the coffee shop, even though she knew there were many in need of a meal.

Then a little girl with one missing front tooth and another wiggly one took all the money she had received from the tooth fairy and gave it to charity.

She wiggled the other tooth just to help it along.

The little girl's mom, who made scrumptious cupcakes, gooey brownies and mouth-watering cookies, along with some equally delicious gluten-free options, quickly organized a fundraiser, which inspired a young man with a great sense of style and real acting chops to volunteer at the school, which moved a whole class of students to donate their time to fix up a house that had been damaged by the storm, which led to more ideas, more generosity, more kindness, and more action.

Not too long after that, another storm moved through the town.

The next morning, the little girl with three pigtails raced down to the end of the dock.

♪♪ Only to find... ♪♪ ♪♪ The little girl walked up to the old man and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

'Now do you get it?'

she asked.

The old man did.

The end.