We demonstrated a compact optical amplification system using a fiber taper and rare-earth-doped microsphere. Both the signal and pump beams were injected into the microsphere via the fiber taper to increase the spatial matching between two whispering gallery modes. As the pump power was increased, the resonance dip in the transmission spectra due to intrinsic attenuation in the microsphere became filled and then transited to the resonance gain peak. An amplification factor of up to 2.5 was realized with a microsphere of 63 microm in diameter.