By+Jon+Lentz

It was the perfect day to fly a kite. The sun was warm. The breeze was right. In the back of a closet， looking haggard and thin， fretted one lonely kite that preferred to stay in. He was diamond in shape， half red and half white， with a bowtie rag tail， meant to steady his flight. But he didnt like flying.

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 wouldnt be long till his boy would burst into the closet to cart him away for another embarrassing public display. At that very moment， as his thought was complete， the closet door opened. The kite shrunk in defeat.“Come on，”said the boy.“Its the perfect kite day.”Then 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 queasy， 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 gaped at his kite that dragged... and tumbled ... and scraped. He heard a boy laugh and another one joke，“That kite must either be stupid or broken.”The boy hung his head and went back to his kite. Kneeling， he thoughtfully asked，“Are you all right？”The kite seemed to be no worse for the wear， even though he had not so much as caught air.

“Why dont you fly？”The boys tone was staid.“Dont 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 for a moment， the boy and the kite. Then with a kind smile， the boy said，“Its alright. Everyone gets frightened. Dad says thats okay. And by facing fears boldly we can scare some away. Thats how it was with me and my bike. Maybe biking and flying are a little alike.”The glimmer of hope that shone in the boys eyes 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 exhilaration he felt his heart soar. So he yelled to the boy，“Give more string，please.More！”Musteringcourage，hisjaw tight and square， he made a great loop！the"loop in the air. Every child was squinting to watch that kite sail—now a glistening speck with a bowtie rag tail. With his head in the clouds， the kite felt quite grand until remembering he still didnt know how to land. But instead of locking in panic， he let his fear go. The kite took a deep breath， and said，“On with the show！”Then giving himself once again to the breeze， he lost elevation. Surfing the breeze eventually brought him back to the park where an elated 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. 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(gè)放風(fēng)箏的好日子。太陽暖烘烘的，風(fēng)也剛剛好。在一個(gè)柜子的深處，一只孤零零的風(fēng)箏看起來有點(diǎn)憔悴且瘦削，它無比煩躁，只愿留在柜子里。它的外形呈菱形，一半紅色一半白色，下面有一個(gè)布做的蝴蝶結(jié)形狀的尾巴，幫助它在飛行時(shí)保持平衡。但是，這只風(fēng)箏不喜歡飛行。

你看，飛得越高，摔得就越遠(yuǎn)。這一點(diǎn)最讓這只風(fēng)箏感到害怕。附近的公園里回蕩著大笑聲和歡叫聲。風(fēng)箏知道用不了多久，它的男孩主人就會(huì)沖到柜子前，拽它出去，開始一場讓人窘迫的公開表演。就在它剛剛想完這些的那一瞬間，柜門打開了。風(fēng)箏毫無斗志，蜷縮起身體。“來吧，”男孩說，“今天是放風(fēng)箏的好日子?！蹦泻еL(fēng)箏出去玩了。等他們到了公園，那里已經(jīng)到處是放風(fēng)箏的孩子，他們的風(fēng)箏都在空中飛著，飛得優(yōu)雅，飛得很高。男孩指著天空：“看，飛起來一點(diǎn)都不難！”風(fēng)箏害怕地向上看去，它覺得很不舒服，盡管春風(fēng)吹得很起勁兒。

男孩開始跑起來，好讓風(fēng)箏做好起飛的準(zhǔn)備。他跑著穿越整個(gè)公園，其他孩子目瞪口呆地看著他的風(fēng)箏被拖著在地上行進(jìn)……翻滾……蹭來蹭去。他聽到一個(gè)男孩大笑，另一個(gè)男孩開玩笑說：“那個(gè)風(fēng)箏肯定不是傻的就是壞的?！蹦泻⒋瓜骂^，走回他的風(fēng)箏旁，跪在地上，關(guān)切地問道：“你還好嗎？”風(fēng)箏看起來沒有受到什么損傷，雖然它還沒緩過勁來。

“你為什么不飛起來呢？”男孩的語氣很沉穩(wěn)?！澳悴恢涝趺达w嗎？”他問，“你是害怕嗎？”風(fēng)箏帶著自己所有的驕傲想要反駁男孩，但它的眼神告訴男孩，男孩猜對(duì)了。

男孩和風(fēng)箏安靜地坐了一會(huì)兒，然后男孩帶著親切的笑容說：“沒關(guān)系，每個(gè)人都會(huì)害怕。爸爸說這沒什么。勇敢面對(duì)恐懼可以嚇跑一些恐懼，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(diǎn)相像。”男孩眼睛里閃爍的一絲希望的光芒讓風(fēng)箏決定再試著飛一下。

男孩開始奔跑，好給風(fēng)箏一些起飛的助力，吹到風(fēng)箏身上的風(fēng)立刻變得又快又猛。這次，風(fēng)箏沒有再同這風(fēng)對(duì)抗，而是任憑自己隨風(fēng)飄起。隨著風(fēng)把它向上抬起，它知道自己一定能做到。

開始時(shí)，它刻意不向下看。接著，它鼓起了勇氣，它可以看到整個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)！它情緒高漲，覺得自己的心都在飛。于是，它沖男孩大喊：“再放點(diǎn)線，拜托，多放點(diǎn)線！”它鼓足勇氣，繃緊下頜，在空中漂亮地翻了個(gè)筋斗。每個(gè)孩子都瞇眼看著風(fēng)箏在空中滑行———現(xiàn)在只能看到一個(gè)帶著蝴蝶結(jié)布尾巴的發(fā)光小點(diǎn)。隨著風(fēng)箏的頭升入云端，它感覺妙極了，直到它想起來自己還不知道怎么著陸。不過它沒有陷入恐慌，而是努力忘記恐懼。它深吸了一口氣，說：“好戲繼續(xù)！”然后它再一次把自己全部交給風(fēng)，降低飛行高度。它隨風(fēng)滑翔，最后回到了公園。在那里，那個(gè)男孩興高采烈地接住了它。

風(fēng)箏覺得平靜、快樂、煥然一新，它想讓男孩也來分享它的感受。所以，它毫不猶豫地大喊：“抓緊了！”男孩和風(fēng)箏一起飛了起來。他們?cè)诳罩袘彝?、滑翔、飄蕩，向從他們身旁掠過的受到驚嚇的鳥兒揮手。當(dāng)男孩和風(fēng)箏著陸后，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(gè)傳說的結(jié)尾是風(fēng)箏在那天明白了一個(gè)道理———勇敢面對(duì)恐懼可以把我們的一些恐懼嚇跑。要想讓新的嘗試成功，你就必須愿意成長。那就意味著不退縮，放手一搏。