1. A short story about values
What Makes
Good People
A short story about values
by Wes Fessler

2. Archie was thoughtful--more thoughtful than most; with most clever ideas, though he never would boast.

3. He was young and quite small, but his ideas were grand, still there was something Archie did not understand.

4. Archie had a good heart. He was caring and kind, but was he a good person? He wondered in mind.

5. "What makes a good person," he asked in his head
"What makes a good person," he asked in his head? "I will have to find out," he then thoughtfully said.

6. So he thought of the good in the people he knew, and he learned that good people have good values too.

7. Now good values are ideas that lead to good deeds, and good deeds can help people take care of their needs.

8. Like at school, Archie's teacher was really the best
Like at school, Archie's teacher was really the best. One time Archie messed up on a very big test.

9. So his teacher taught him in a special new way, then he took the test over and got a big "A."

10. If his teacher did not care, he'd have a bad grade, but since he had good values, he came to his aid.

11. But it seemed in good people, there's also some bad
But it seemed in good people, there's also some bad. Even Archie's great teacher would sometimes get mad.

12. Archie thought very deeply to figure it out
Archie thought very deeply to figure it out. How could bad mix with good? What was it all about?

13. In good people, he found, there were both good and bad
In good people, he found, there were both good and bad. There was no perfect person, not even his dad!

14. But good people try being the best they can be
But good people try being the best they can be. They don't ever give up, and that's really the key.

15. Everyone makes mistakes, but that's how people learn
Everyone makes mistakes, but that's how people learn. They try making things right when they take a wrong turn.

16. Archie found that good values were in everyone
Archie found that good values were in everyone. When he looked hard enough, he could find at least one.

17. So he looked for the good things in people each day
So he looked for the good things in people each day. He embraced what was good and threw bad things away.

18. And by finding good values in people he knew, Archie learned he could do the same good things they do.

19. Taking every good value and trying it out, Archie answered the question he once asked about.

20. And his goodness got better as each day passed by, when he looked for good values and gave them a try.

21. Archie learned that good people grow ever more kind when they seek out the goodness in others to find.