阿瓊

It was the perfect day to fly a kite. The sun was warm. The breeze was right. The air was fresh with the sweet perfume of flowering trees in springtime bloom. After the long， boring winter， kites everywhere couldn't wait for the chance to go dance in the air. To summersault1） freely. To zigzag2） the sun. Every kite was excited. Well， all kites but one.

In the back of a closet， looking haggard3） and thin4）， fretted5） one lonely kite that preferred to stay in. He was diamond in shape， half red and half white， with a bowtie6） rag tail， meant to steady his flight. His lines were so classic you may think with a sigh that you've seen him before in some childhood sky. But he didn't like flying. Well， that isn't quite right—It wasn't the flying so much as the height.

You see， the higher the flight， the further the fall. It was that which scared the kite most of all. From the park nearby echoed laughter and joy. The kite knew it wouldn't be long 'till his boy would burst into the closet to cart7） him away for another embarrassing public display. They would head for the park with the other fanatics8） in search of the perfect kite aerobatics9）. The boy would start running. The string would unwind. And the kite， he would tumble10） on the hard ground behind. At that very moment， as his thought was complete， the closet door opened. The kite shrunk in defeat.

"Come on，" said the boy， "It's the perfect kite day." And the boy and the kite headed outside to play. As they came to the park there were kids everywhere flying kites that sailed gracefully high in the air. The boy pointed up， "Look， flying is easy！" With dread the kite looked， it made him feel queasy11）， although the spring breezes were heartily blowing.

The boy started running to get the kite going. He ran all through the park while other kids gaped12） at his kite that dragged ... and tumbled ... and scraped13）. He heard a boy laugh and another one joke， "That kite must either be stupid or broke." The boy hung his head and went back to his kite. Kneeling， he thoughtfully asked， "You alright？" The kite seemed to be no worse for the wear， even though he had not so much as caught air.

"Why don't you fly？" The boy's tone was staid14）. "Don't you know how？" he asked. "Are you afraid？" With all of his pride， the kite tried to contest it， but the look in his eyes told the boy he had guessed it.

They sat in silence a moment， the boy and the kite. Then with a kind smile， the boy said， "It's alright. Everyone gets frightened. Dad says that's okay. And by facing fears boldly we can scare some away. That's how it was with me and my bike. Maybe biking and flying are a little alike." The glimmer15） of hope that shone in the boy's eye made the kite decide to give flying a try.

The boy started running to give the kite lift. The wind on the kite was at once brisk and swift. Instead of fighting the wind he gave himself to it. As it carried him upward， he knew he could do it.

At first he was careful not to look down. Then he got up his nerve. He could see the whole town！ With exhilaration16） he felt his heart soar. So he yelled to the boy， "Give more string， please. More！" Mustering courage， his jaw tight and square， he made a great loop-the-loop17） in the air. Every child was squinting18） to watch that kite sail—now a glistening speck19） with a bowtie rag tail. With his head in the clouds， the kite felt quite grand until remembering he still didn't know how to land. But instead of locking in panic， he let his fear go. The kite took a deep breathe， and said， "On with the show！" Then giving himself once again to the breeze， he lost elevation， just sure as you please. Surfing the breezes eventually brought him back to the park where an elated20） boy caught him.

The kite felt peaceful and blissful and new， and he wanted his boy to feel all of it too. So without hesitation， he said， "Hold on tight！" And they took off together， the boy and the kite. They floated， they glided， they hung in the sky. They waved at startled birds flying by. Higher than treetops and rooftops they flew， and the higher they went， the greater the view. They saw so many parks in the town down below， and so many kites with children in tow. And every so often they were touched by the sight of a hopeful child dragging a scared， earthbound kite. When the boy and kite landed they were met with wild cheers.

Their story became legend； it was told so many years. The legend ends with the lessons the kite learned that day that facing fears boldly can scare some away. To succeed at new things， you must be willing to grow. That means not holding back. It means letting go.

那是個放風箏的好日子。太陽暖烘烘的，風也剛剛好，正值春日花期，空氣中彌漫著開花樹木的甜香，無比清新。在度過了漫長又百無聊賴的冬天之后，各處的風箏都等不及在空中翩翩起舞的機會，要自由自在地翻筋斗，要呈之字形向太陽靠近。每只風箏都很興奮。唔，只有一只例外。

在一個柜子深處，有一只孤零零的風箏看起來有點憔悴且瘦削，他無比煩躁，寧愿留在柜子里。他的外形呈菱形，一半紅色一半白色，下面有一個布做的蝴蝶結形狀的尾巴幫助他在飛行時保持平衡。他的輪廓線那么經典，你可能會心生感嘆，覺得兒時曾在天空中見過他。但是這只風箏不喜歡飛行。哦，這么說也不全對——比起飛這件事，困擾他更多的是高度的問題。

你看，飛得越高，摔得就越遠。就是這一點最讓這只風箏感到害怕。附近的公園里回蕩著大笑聲和歡叫聲。風箏知道用不了多久他的男孩主人就會沖到柜子里，拽他出去，開始另一場讓人窘迫的公開表演。他們將和其他瘋小孩一起去公園，嘗試找出最完美的風箏飛行特技。到時男孩會跑起來，風箏線會逐漸展開，而風箏呢，會在男孩身后硬邦邦的地上翻滾。就在他剛剛想完這些的那一瞬間，柜門打開了。風箏毫無斗志，蜷縮起身體。

“來吧，”男孩說，“今天是放風箏的好日子?！蹦泻еL箏出去玩了。等他們到了公園，那里已經到處是放風箏的孩子，他們的風箏都優(yōu)雅地在空中飛得很高。男孩指著天空：“看，飛起來一點都不難！”風箏害怕地向上看去，他覺得很不舒服，盡管春風吹得很起勁兒。

男孩開始跑起來，好讓風箏做好起飛的準備。他跑著穿越整個公園，其他孩子目瞪口呆地看著他的風箏被拖著……翻滾……在地上蹭來蹭去。他聽到一個男孩大笑，另一個男孩開玩笑說：“那個風箏肯定不是傻的就是壞的。”男孩垂下頭，走回他的風箏旁，跪在地上，關切地問道：“你還好嗎？”風箏看起來沒有受到什么損傷，雖然他還沒緩過勁來。

“你為什么不飛起來呢？”男孩的語氣很沉穩(wěn)。“你不知道怎么飛嗎？”他問，“你是害怕嗎？”風箏帶著自己所有的驕傲想要反駁男孩，但他的眼神告訴男孩，男孩猜對了。

男孩和風箏安靜地坐了一會兒，然后男孩帶著親切的笑容說：“沒關系，每個人都會害怕。爸爸說這沒什么。勇敢面對恐懼可以嚇跑我們的一些恐懼，我和我的自行車就是這樣。也許騎自行車和飛也有那么一點相像?！蹦泻⒀劬镩W爍的一絲希望的光芒讓風箏決定再試著飛一下。

男孩開始奔跑，好給風箏一些起飛的助力，吹到風箏身上的風立刻變得又快又猛。這次風箏沒有再同這風對抗，而是任憑自己讓風擺布。隨著風把他向上抬起，他知道自己能做到。

開始時，他很小心地不向下看。但接著他鼓起了勇氣，他可以看到整個城鎮(zhèn)！他情緒高漲，覺得自己的心都在飛。于是他沖男孩大喊：“再放點線，拜托，多放點線！”他鼓足勇氣，繃緊下頜，在空中漂亮地翻了個筋斗。每個孩子都瞇眼看著風箏在空中滑行——現(xiàn)在只能看到一個帶著蝴蝶結布尾巴的發(fā)光小點。隨著風箏的頭升入云端，他感覺妙極了，直到他想起來自己還不知道怎么著陸。不過他沒有陷入恐慌，而是努力忘記恐懼。他深吸了一口氣，說：“好戲繼續(xù)！”然后再一次把自己全部交給風，正如我們所想的，他飛行高度下降。他隨風滑翔，最后回到了公園，在那里，那個男孩興高采烈地抓住了他。

風箏覺得平靜、快樂，煥然一新，他想讓男孩也來分享他的感受。所以他毫不猶豫地大喊：“抓緊了！”男孩和風箏一起飛了起來。他們在空中懸停，漂浮、滑翔，向從他們身旁掠過的那些受到驚嚇的鳥兒揮手。他們越飛越高，超過了樹冠，越過了屋頂。他們飛得越高，看到的景色就越美。他們看到下面的城鎮(zhèn)里有那么多公園，有那么多被孩子牽著的風箏。他們偶爾還會看到一個滿懷希望的孩子拖著一只滿心害怕怎么也不肯離開地面的風箏，這樣的畫面總是讓他們覺得感動。當男孩和風箏落地后，迎接他們的是熱烈的喝彩聲。

他們的故事變成了傳說，流傳了很多年。這個傳說的結尾是風箏在那天明白的道理——勇敢面對恐懼可以把我們的一些恐懼嚇跑。想要讓新的嘗試成功，你必須愿意成長。那就意味著不退縮，意味著放手一搏。