There once was a little girl whose name was Lily. Her mommy and daddy had gone to heaven, so she was all alone. She was very poor, so poor that she didn't have a cozy house or lots of toys. All she had were the clothes she was wearing and one small piece of bread someone kind had given her. But Lily had a big, warm heart.

One day, Lily thought, "I'll go out into the big, wide world and see what happens!" So, off she went.

Soon, she met an old man. "Oh," he sighed, "I'm so very hungry, and I have nothing to eat."
Lily felt sad for him. "Here," she said, "please take my bread. It's not much, but it's all I have." The man smiled, thanked her, and ate the bread.

Lily walked on. A little later, she saw a child sitting by the road. "Brrr!" said the child, "My head is so cold!"
Lily looked at her own little hat. "You can have my hat," she said, and gently placed it on the child's head. The child giggled with happiness.

On she went, and soon another child came along, shivering. "I'm freezing!" the child cried.
Lily was wearing a little jacket. "Here," she said, "this will keep you warm," and she gave away her jacket.

The sun began to set, and it got a bit chilly. Lily met another child who looked even colder. "I have nothing warm to wear at all," the child whispered.
Lily looked down at her dress. It was her last proper piece of clothing, apart from her little undershirt. "You need this more than I do," she said, and gave away her dress.

Now Lily was standing in the woods, and it was getting dark. She only had her thin undershirt on. She thought, "Well, no one can see me here in the dark, and if someone else is cold, I should help them." Just then, another little voice whispered, "I'm so cold, and I have nothing." So, Lily took off her little undershirt and gave that away too.

And there stood Lily, with absolutely nothing left. Suddenly, something amazing happened! The stars in the night sky began to fall down. But they weren't just stars – as they landed near her feet, they turned into shiny, gold coins! One after another, plink, plink, plink! And then, as if by magic, a brand new, soft, fine linen shirt appeared right in front of her. It was much nicer than any she had ever owned.

Lily quickly put on the new shirt. It felt so soft! Then she gathered up all the gold coins into the shirt. There were so many! She was rich now, and she lived happily and comfortably for the rest of her days, always remembering to be kind.

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