< RM > story - Flying

Flying

Once upon a time there
was a little boy who was
raised in an orphanage.
The little boy had always
wished that he could fly like
a bird. It was very difficult
for him to understand why
he could not fly. There were
birds at the zoo that were
much bigger than he, and
they could fly.
"Why can't I?" he
thought. "Is there some-
thing wrong with me?" he
wondered.
There was another little
boy who was crippled. He
had always wished that he
could walk and run like other little boys and
girls.
"Why can't I be like them?" he thought.
One day the little orphan boy who had
wanted to fly like a bird ran away from the
orphanage. He came upon a park where he
saw the little boy who could not walk or run
playing in the sandbox.
He ran over to the little boy and asked him
if he had ever wanted to fly like a bird.
"No," said the little boy who could not
walk or run. "But I have wondered what it
would be like to walk and run like other boys
and girls."
"That is very sad." said the little boy who
wanted to fly. "Do you think we could be
friends?" he said to the little boy in the sand-
box.
"Sure." said the little boy.
The two little boys
played for hours. They
made sand castles and
made really funny sounds
with their mouths. Sounds
which made them laugh
real hard. Then the little
boy's father came with a
wheelchair to pick up his
son. The little boy who had
always wanted to fly ran
over to the boy's father and
whispered something into
his ear.
"That would be OK," said
the man.
The little boy who had
always wanted to fly like a
bird ran over to his new
friend and said, "You are
my only friend and I wish that there was
something that I could do to make you walk
and run like other little boys and girls. But I
can't. But there is something that I can do
for you."
The little orphan boy turned around and
told his new friend to slide up onto his back.
He then began to run across the grass. Faster
and faster he ran, carrying the little crippled
boy on his back. Faster and harder he ran
across the park. Harder and harder he made
his legs travel. Soon the wind just whistled
across the two little boys' faces.
The little boy's father began to cry as he
watched his beautiful little crippled son flap-
ping his arms up and down in the wind, all
the while yelling at the top of his voice,
"I'M FLYING, DADDY. I'M FLY-
ING!"