Now the trees were close．The ground seemed to be coming up fast．Could I land all right？I could and I did！It was about like jumping off a box．But when I stood up，my legs gave way．Fell on my face．No matter！I had jumped from an airplane！And who would ever know how very much afraid I had been？
从飞机上跳伞？谁，我吗？
同恐惧斗争
我最好的朋友们都无法相信。他们说，“从飞机上跳伞？格洛里娅决不肯干的！”
可是，我跳了！而且我将永远为此而高兴。
让我告诉你们这件事的经过吧。它是这么发生的：
我为一家大城市的报纸写文章。我想写一篇有关从空中跳伞的报道。可我在任何一种体育活动方面都不怎么样。我不会游泳，不会投球或击球。我怎么能从飞机上跳伞呢？
但是，为了写出一篇读起来真实而又激动人心的报道，我必须跳。于是，我终于说，“我跳！我一定要克服恐惧心理！”
我的朋友约翰要帮助我。“你跳伞之前，一定要学学怎么跳，”约翰说。“今晚我带你到飞机场，在那里的地面学校，你可以学会怎样跳伞。不难，明天早晨你就能跳伞了。”
在去地面学校的路上，约翰不停地说着。我觉得好像他说的每一句话开头总有“不要”二字。
“不要落在水里，格洛里娅。”他说。“不要落在挤满汽车的公路上。不要落在楼顶上。”
难怪我对于试着从空中跳伞变得越来越害怕了！
“准备好——预备——”
在飞机场，我见到了教空中跳伞的哈里。哈里对我也有更多的“不要”。
“不要只是从飞机上摔下来。”哈里说。“你必须像跳水一样头向下跳下去。当你下落时要伸开双臂，不要去想你的降落伞，它会在你跳出来之后不久就张开的。如果它没有张开，你还有另一个降落伞。你自己能打开它。不要害怕，格洛里娅。”
“我还是害怕。”我说。“如果两个降落伞同时张开，将会发生什么事呢？”
“那将会很糟糕。”哈里答。“不过，那种情况是不会发生的。”
接着，他为我表演怎样跳伞。“面向飞机前方，”他说，“在机翼旁边这里抓紧，站在这个小台阶上，突然向后、向上踢脚。从飞机旁用力把自己推出去。”
而后，他对我讲了如何着陆。“靠近地面时，脸要朝着逆风的方向，不要朝下看，不要向上收脚。”“在你着陆的一瞬间，把下巴深深收缩，收拢双臂，两腿靠在一起，力求双脚一起落地。”
哈里看出了我是多么害怕。“你决不会受一点伤的。”他说。
那天晚上，我无法入睡。我依然听到，“这样做！那样做！不要这样做！不要那样做！”我一遍又一遍地自言自语，“不要怕！不会痛的！”不过，我相信会痛的。
“——跳！”
早晨终于来临。我再次到达机场。在那里，我穿上使我看上去像一只大白口袋的衣服，一顶橙色的安全盔扣在我的头上。两个沉重的降落伞也背在我身上。向飞机走去很感吃力。
不过，我走到了飞机上！一会儿，飞机升起。我开始觉得有点恶心。飞机上有门洞没有门扇，我可以透过门洞看到蓝天。
哈里把我降落伞上的一根绳子钩在飞机里的一个环上，这根绳子在我跳伞后将拉开我的降落伞。
“准备好格洛里娅。”哈里说道，我想哭，“不，不，不！”
我到了机舱门口，但我不敢向下看。我抓得那么用力，手都疼了。风用力撕扯我的衣服，并刺痛了我的眼睛。
“跳！”哈里大声叫道。“跳！”
令我惊奇的是，我跳了。我像只青蛙似的向后踢，我用力把自己从飞机旁边推开。我的双臂伸开了。我闭上了眼睛。
落啊，落啊，我不停地向下落。我活动一下手臂。还真见效！空气似乎在阻止我下落。霎时间，我感到很高兴。
然后，我觉得被用力拽了一下。我的巨大的橙色降落伞业已张开！这是我经历过的最令我惊奇的好事。我向下望去，那里有河流、树林、田野、房屋，世界依然存在！
我看，我听。我听到空气发出柔和的声音。真有意思！
我拉一根绳子，我的降落伞突然转动，但没有转向正确的方向，我急忙拉另一根绳子。
现在，树林临近了，大地似乎在急速向上扑来。我能安全着陆吗？我能——而且做到了！简直就像是从一个箱子上跳下来似的。
但是，当我站起来时，我的腿支持不住了，脸朝下摔倒了。
没关系！我从飞机上跳过伞了！有谁会知道我当时有多么害怕呢？
Mr．Santa
“Is there a Santa Claus，Uncle Will？”asked Nancy．It was Christmas Day．All the family sat around the dinner table．Nancy’s brother，Mike，smiled at Uncle Will．MIke was nine．Nancy was only five．
“I met Mr．Santa yesterday，Nancy.”said Uncle Will．“I will tell you about him．Every word of my story is true．”
Here is the story as Uncle Will told it．
Uncle Will’s Story As you all know，I got home from a long trip last night．Yesterday morning，my plane had to land at a small airfield．The plane could not go on because of bad weather．
Everyone on the big plane was in a hurry to get home for Christmas．But there were not enough buses to take us all．Most people had to stay at the airfield many hours．
Bags and packages were all over the place．Children kept getting lost．Babies were crying．Everyone was cold and hungry．Everyone felt cross．
All at once I heard a friendly，quiet voice．“Don’t you worry，ma’am.”the voice said．“We’re going to find your bags．You will get home tonight．Everything will work out all right．”
I turned and saw a short，fat man with a round，merry face．He wore a red sweater and high boots．Curly white hair showed under his cap．He seemed to come right out of the poem “The Night Before Christmas”！
The little man stood by a pushcart that was just a big box on wheels．I saw sandwiches and hot drinks in the pushcart．
“Here you are，ma’am.”said the man．“Drink this hot tea while I look around fo
r your bags．”
Then he moved on，handing out food and drinks from his cart．
I followed him．My bus would not leave for a long time．Soon，I found myself helping this man．In my mind，I had begun to call him Mr．Santa．He had kind words for everyone we passed．“Merry Christmas to you，brother.”he said to one．“Let me help you find your bus.”he said to another．He sang bits of Christmas songs，too．
After a time he said to me，“See that child in the blue coat？I think she is lost．Give her this candy bar．Tell her to stay right where she is．If she keeps moving around，her mother won’t find her．”I talked to the child and gave her the candy bar．Then I went back to my Mr．Santa．“Who is this man？”I wondere．At last I asked him，“What company are you working for？”
“I’m not working for anyone.”he answered．“I’m just having fun．I take a vacation at this time every year．For two weeks，I help travelers．Around Christmas，a lot of people need help．”
Just then he saw a woman crying．She had a baby in her arms．