A seven-year-old schoolboy showed his sick classmate the true meaning of friendship by having all his hair shaved off to support him through his battle with cancer.
After Zac Gossage, six, was diagnosed with leukaemia he dreaded going school in Union, Missouri, for fear of being teased.
But his best friend Vincent Butterfield was determined to make his pal feel less self-conscious – so he decided to shave off all his own hair, too.
Then one day Vincent showed up to his first-grade class at Central Elementary School wearing a stocking cap, telling his teacher: "I have a surprise for Zac."
He then removed the stocking cap to reveal his newly shaved head to his friend and schoolmates.
Vincent's mum Karen said: "Vincent is like that. He's a compassionate little boy. When he sets his mind to [do something], he does it."
Vincent told local news that he 'cut it off to make Zac feel like he's not the only one without any hair'.
In a further act of friendship, Vincent researched leukaemia and had realised that fighting the illness costs a great deal of money.
So he asked his mum if they could sell scarves to help raise money for Zac's treatments and he sold 20 scarves to raise a couple of hundred dollars.
He said: "I sold them so the doctors can fix him."
When a reporter asked Vincent what he thought friendship was, the first grader thought for a moment and then answered: "A beautiful thing."
It certainly is, as this wonderful video of the two boys together illustrates...