Gladys Holm was a secretary(秘书). She worked in an office all her life. Gladys earned(挣) about $ 15,000 a year. She died when she was 86 years old. And she left a big surprise---$ 18 million! She gave the money to a children's hospital.
Gladys Holm never got married or had any children. But she always liked children, and she wanted to help them. When her friend's daughter was ill in hospital, Gladys brought her a teddy bear. After that, she visited the hospital many times. Every time she visited, she brought teddy bears for those children. After that, people started to call Gladys the “Teddy Bear Lady”.
Gladys always gave toys and presents to her friends and family but no one knew she had a lot of money. She lived in a small house outside Chicago. Everyone was very surprised when they learned she was a millionaire. A family friend said, “She always gave us nice presents and things, but we didn't know she was rich.
How did Gladys get so much money? She asked her boss how to earn more money, and she listened to what he said. She bought the stocks(股票) that he told her to buy, and she got very rich. Before she died, she talked to her friends about “giving something to the children's hospital”. No one knew that the “something” was $ 18 million!