1. A good deed is something you do to help someone else, not yourself.

"You can sleep in my ear."

2. A good deed is a simple action, thought, or emotion (energy that you give off) that makes another person/living creature/the planet's day happier and more joyful than it would have been, without your good deed.

Share some laughter with a friend.

Quote from Douglas Fairbanks' 1917 book, "Laugh and Live"

Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet.

Douglas Fairbanks. Laugh and Live (Kindle Locations 136-137). Kindle edition.

3. A good deed is something that is done spontaneously. You can't prepare to do a good deed; it's an opportunity presented to you during the course of your day, as you go about your life, that you have the choice of accepting or declining.

"And late that afternoon she found a beautiful bird lying on the ground for his wing had been broken."

4. A good deed is always done with the heartfelt intention of helping another person/living creature/the planet and cannot contain a lie.

   Contrast

"I go to sing to the Princess who is kept locked in the tower"

With

"He smiled craftily and invited her into his web for a cup of honey. "Don't be afraid," he urged. "I will spin you some fine wings."

5. A good deed cannot be measured by money, but instead by something much more precious: the loving intent you hold in your heart when you perform the good deed.
   "And every day [Fairy Misery] came to tempt [Princess April] with the choicest jewels, silken dresses and bright colored wings. If Princess April would serve her and do evil instead of good, these priceless gifts would be hers. But Princess April would not even look at the gifts."

Quote from Douglas Fairbanks' 1918 "Making life worth while"

There are things that money won't buy for instance, a good night's sleep.… So we come quickly back to the proposition that wealth, while useful to the stomach and the back, has no purchasing power with the soul. Happiness is a soul quality...

Douglas Fairbanks (2009-02-03). Making Life Worth While (Kindle Locations 562-564; 551-553). Kindle Edition.

6. A good deed is committed without consideration of what the Do-er will receive in return.

"And so great was their gratitude that the Prince wished to build a tiny, golden castle for Princess April so that she could live with them always. But as Princess April longed to return to Fairyland, she bade them farewell."

Quote from Douglas Fairbanks' 1917 book, "Laugh and Live"

And let us not plume ourselves because of our virtue. Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow man.

Douglas Fairbanks. Laugh and Live (Kindle Locations 424-426). Kindle edition.

7. The do-er of a good deed is always rewarded but it may be a long time between the act of the good deed and the reward, which, like the good deed, is not measured by money or material possessions.

"A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he
who plants kindness gathers love."
- St. Basil

"For although Princess April had been naughty in leaving Fairyland, she had done three good deeds."

8. When an opportunity to do a good deed presents itself, it's a reflection to you of where you can help another, in a mutually harmoniously fashion.

"Fortunately, she knew just what to do as she had learned how to mend broken wings in Fairy School."

9. A good deed never involves doing harm to any other, even if the end result could be considered "good". [In other words, if a person invokes "the ends justify the means" then this is not a good deed.] A good deed is always done from wisdom and with kindness

"As soon as everyone was fast asleep from the effects of the drugged wine, Princess April took the key to the tower from the wicked King's belt and hastened to meet Prince Chivalry."

Commentary on this example for #9: Princess April doesn't kill anyone; She merely temporarily incapacitates them, leaving them to live and lick their wounds; note there is no revenge on the part of the vanquished. This is a far cry from the modern example, endlessly repeated, of lethal violence as the only solution to all problems that surround us – and our children. There are other solutions; let us employ non-violent measures to achieve our goals.

10. A good deed doesn't have to be witnessed to be effective. You may be the only person who knows your good deed was done, and that's perfect.

"First, she took a straight twig and bound it to the wing with her hair ribbon. Then she covered it with clay to form a cast."

Personal Example for #10: My favorite example for this, that I try to incorporate into my daily life: Pick up trash or clean up a mess (that I didn't leave, or make) whether it's in my house, my neighbor's or friend's, or in a public spot.

Remember:

What kind of world would you create

if you had to do three good deeds

to make it home again?