Chicken Soup for the Soul Season 1, Episode 23: A Bad Influence/The Surprise/Who You Are Makes A Difference

The Window / All the Good Things / The Appointment / The Cookie Thief

60 min

A Sandpiper to Bring You Joy / The Cape / Starlight, Starbright / The Gift ...

A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY: Despondent over her divorce, a woman finds solace on the beach with a little girl who teaches her to love again. THE CAPE: Much to his mother's dismay, a kindergartner risks his acceptance to a private academy by insisting his name is Superman. STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT: A teenage girl wishes upon a star for the courage to approach someone she likes, but discovers she's not the only one wishing. THE SEED JAR: The seeds of hope are sealed in a jar for two sisters reunited after a tragedy. TAKING A BREAK: An overworked mother of three rambunctious boys is ""a-rested"" during their game of cops and robbers. THE GIFT: Saying it with flowers, kindness wins the day on a city bus. LOOK OUT, BABY, I'M YOUR LOVE MAN: Opportunity knocks at a radio station, but is a D.J. hopeful prepared to answer?

60 min

No Less a Starfish / My Convertible / Love Is Never Lost / A Gentle Caress....

NO LESS A STARFISH: A woman's emotional scars from a mastectomy are healed by a starfish and a little girl. LOVE IS NEVER LOST: After his girlfriend breaks up with him, a high school football player learns that love never is really lost. A GENTLE CARESS: A young couple learns that it's not what you say that means the most. THE LAST DANCE: At his father's death bed, an estranged son remembers the only closeness they've ever had. WRITE YOUR OWN LIFE: The endless possibilities of life are encompassed in a pen. THE PRETTIEST ANGEL: ""Benjamin Franklin"" is faced with his toughest question, by a boy whose mother has died. THE WALLET: A man finds a wallet and discovers a treasure inside far more valuable than any amount of money.

60 min

Billy / Salesman's First Sale / Angel in Uniform / Handwriting on the Wall....

BILLY: A clown in a pediatric ward learns his job is more important than he could have ever imagined. THE SALESMAN'S FIRST SALE: A young boy's rocky apprenticeship in sales teaches a valuable lesson to his parents. ENCOURAGEMENT: Even the astute Nathaniel Hawthorne learns that there's nothing stronger than someone's belief in you. THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL: A little boy writes on new, expensive wallpaper -– what's a mother to do? ENDURING LABOR: A well-meaning nurse pulls an unsuspecting man into a delivery room, and he witnesses the greatest moment of his life. MY CONVERTIBLE: Late for a meeting, an egocentric executive speeding in his new convertible gets a new outlook on life, delivered by a brick. LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE: Compassion by strangers is so welcomed, even by a dog-tired canine. ANGEL IN UNIFORM: Two World War II soldiers meet back on American soil and discover what they have in common might save a life.

60 min

From the Heart/Don't Hope, Friend, Decide/How Much is Enough/Going, Going, Gone...

FROM THE HEART: An adopted boy learns from an unexpected source the value and significance of family. DON'T HOPE, FRIEND…DECIDE: A young married man realizes that relationships are not a matter of destiny but of choice. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?: Caught in the net of his hectic life, a businessman learns what the finer things in life really are from a fisherman. GOING, GOING, GONE: In their eagerness to earn extra allowance money, two young sisters clean out their parents' garage all too well. JOE'S PLACE: A group of teens learns that their two wrong assumptions can be turned around into a righteous act. AN AFTERNOON IN THE PARK: A young boy has a ""vision"" as he searches for God in a city park. NIGHT WATCH: A Marine brings comfort to a father on his death bed through ""memories"" they never shared.

60 min

Faith, Hope and Love/Behind Every Great Man is a Great Woman/Mother's Day...

Cat Hammons was in this episode as the mother everyone is willing to help get back to school.

60 min

Just Say It!/Security Blanket/Try Something Different/Live Your Life...

JUST SAY IT: A widower discovers that the best Valentine a person can receive is the one that is given away. SAFETY BLANKET: A young son's thoughtful gift cloaks his father in devoted love. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Inspired by a common housefly that thinks it is trapped, three men find a way out of their own dilemma. LIVE YOUR LIFE: A mother questions her skills as a parent until she discovers the sage writings of her daughter. THE PERFECT DOG: A deaf boy demonstrates to his class why his ugly dog is also the most beautiful. SILENT NIGHT: Two World War II soldiers, an American and a German, are trapped together in a barn on Christmas Eve and learn who one another really are.

60 min

Pitch/Dance Night/Attitude, One of Life's Choices/Grass/Goodwill...

PITCH: In an unexpected fashion, a high school baseball player learns as much about parental love and pride from his coach as he does from his parents. DANCE NIGHT: An athletic tomboy invited to her first dance is apprehensive about her father's response when he sees her all dressed up. ATTITUDE: The attitude of a self-proclaimed positive thinker is put to the test, and then it becomes personal. GRASS: The simple beauty of green grass becomes a metaphor of an adult son's newly rediscovered affection for his mother. GOODWILL: Clothes don't make the young man, nor do they win his heart. BERNIE'S BALLOON: A young girl misses her deceased grandfather and sends him a note to heaven via balloon. The biggest surprise is the return message. THE REAL FATHER: Questioning the paternity of the child he is raising as his own, a man discerns the true meaning of parenthood.

60 min

The Green Boots/How Magic Helped a Blind Girl See/Lady, Are You Rich?...

THE GREEN BOOTS: Confidence has many sources, and an unassuming school janitor becomes one of them. HOW MAGIC HELPED THE BLIND GIRL SEE: Magic is in the cards as a magician helps a despondent blind girl to unfailingly ""see."" LADY, ARE YOU RICH? A little girl's innocuous question reveals to a disaffected homemaker how rich the woman's life really is. THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS BLACK OR WHITE: Two teenagers arguing over the solution of a math problem learn the real solution is in their point of view. GOODBYE, MY FRIEND: An elderly man and his trusted companion, a dog, struggle to find a way to say goodbye to each other and say hello to new lives for the both of them. BEAUTIFUL DAY, ISN'T IT? A blind woman's lesson to others is that losing one's sight isn't nearly as bad as losing one's vision. THE ICE BREAKER: A couple hoping to adopt a child fear their beloved dog will hurt their chances of being accepted by the adoption agency.

60 min

The Anniversary / Lady, Are You Rich? / Where's My Kiss, Then?

BLIND DATE WITH BELINDA: A teenager talks himself into a blind date with the new school mascot, but is she a ""dog?"" TOMMY'S ESSAY: A negative third grader's essay deals with his parent's break-up in an unexpectedly positive way. WHERE'S MY KISS, THEN?: Something lost can become something gained, until it's lost again. A young girl and her father absorb a poignant lesson. SIMPLE TOUCH: It's said a teacher's influence lives on for generations, but this time it saves the life of a student. THEIR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY: The impact of a short poem spans 50 years in the lives of a couple celebrating their anniversary.

60 min

Rescued/The Surprise Date/What Bravery Is/Lost and Found/Paco Come Home

RESCUED: The fate of an orphaned girl is about to be decided in a small-town courtroom in 1934, but she influences an unexpected edict. THE SURPRISE DATE: A woman arranges a blind date for her granddaughter who meets the man of her dreams. WHAT BRAVERY IS: A raw recruit shows his fellow infantrymen the meaning of true bravery. LOST AND FOUND: It's said a person's true character is revealed on the golf course. One man learns more than a golf lesson. PACO, COME HOME: A family argument causes a father and son to realize the value of their relationship.

60 min

Angels Once and a While / Carrie's Gift / A Secret Promise Kept

A SECRET PROMISE KEPT: An unexpected gift from a grateful son comforts a dying father during his last days. APPLE CIDER AND A LOVE STORY: Inspired by an old man's stories about his wife, a young husband gains a new perspective on his own marriage. ANGELS ONCE IN A WHILE: With Thanksgiving nearing, a struggling waitress discovers how large a ""family"" she really has. TWO NICKELS AND FIVE PENNIES: An impatient waitress learns from a young boy that people who have the least to give often give the very most. CARRIE'S GIFT: Big, family grudges become small, forgiven misunderstandings thanks to a persistent granddaughter. THE BAG LADY: A bag lady renders the example that having needs and being needy are degrees in attitude, gratitude and generosity. NOBODY KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE: Selfishness and dishonesty are traits more common than most people would like to believe, as a young boy's metaphoric mirror reveals.

60 min

Sand Castles /Crying's Okay/ It's Never Too Late / Egg Lessons

SAND CASTLES: An estranged couple pledge to repair their marriage. CRYING'S OKAY: Teacher is concerned after finding a student crying in an empty classroom. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE: A middle-aged man returns to his hometown to make amends for a minor crime he had not been charged for years earlier. EGG LESSONS: A mother and teenage daughter talk.

60 min

The Giving Tree / Simple Wooden Boxes / A Birthday Song / The Heart of Christmas

60 min

Making the Grade / $700 Salvation / The Question

60 min

14 Steps / Damaged Goods / Ballerina Dreams

14 STEPS A man (Philip Casnoff) crippled in an accident learns to live with his disability and heal the strained relationships caused by his bitterness. DAMAGED GOODS A divorcee (Tracey Gold) visits her rabbi (Joseph Bologna) about the possibility of remarriage. BALLERINA DREAMS A young dance student yearning to be a ballerina learns to cope with a career-curtailing foot injury.

60 min

Thinking of You / Mama's Soup Pot / The Letter

THE LETTER: A tale about a young man sent to WW2 and the girlfriend he leaves behind. MAMA'S SOUP POT: A teenage boy is ashamed of his loud, ethnic family until he realizes how much his rich society friend appreciates them. THINKING OF YOU: An elderly widow remembers and shares a dance with her dead husband.

60 min

What's Happening With Today's Youth?/Mustang and The Tutor/Father

MUSTANG AND THE TUTOR: In exchange for her teenage student studying his math with her, a teacher (Nora Dunn) is instructed in the art of cars.

60 min

Footprints on My Heart /Legacy / Elopement

60 min

The Right Thing / Letters to Suzie / A Reason for Being

60 min

Mason Dixon Memory / Summer School / The Final Show

60 min

A Pearl of Great Value / Two Sides of Love / Destiny in a Bottle

60 min