Victor had placed the sled in the perfect position, he sat behind Lara and
leaned close to her. They went slowly at first, but as the runners of the sled
met an icy patch, they picked up speedand began a swift downward course.
They built up speed, and by now the air was rushing around them. Lara
screamed with delight, and Victor bellowed pretended words of fear. He liked
Lara a lot but was afraid she had no real interest in him. He wasn’t shy, but it
was difficult to tell a girl how you felt. So, as they whizzed down the hill, he
thought of a joke that would let him say what he had in his heart. As the air
rushed past their ears, Victor leaned forward and whispered, “I love you, Lara.”
Lara didn’t seem to hear him, so she leaned back against his face. And he said
in a hush, “I love you, Lara.” She began to blush. She wasn’t sure what she had
really heard. Was it the wind? Was it her own thoughts? Was it Victor?
At the bottom of the hill, Victor looked at Lara, who cast a questioning
glance at him. But he only smiled and pulled the sled back to his home. He
could not say how he felt and only spoke of the snow and the cold weather.
They grew up, and Lara went off to live in the capital. While living there,
she married, raised a family, and in time buried her husband. When she
returned to her hometown many years later, she learned that Victor had never
married and still lived in the same old house. They were both old now and
spending their final years with books and naps. Lara decided it was time for
a little joke of her own.
She saw Victor sitting in a lawn chairnear a fence. She came up behind him
on the other side of the fence and listened to his restful breathing. She peeked
at him over the fence and saw that he was old and frail. And through a wide
crack in one of the boards, Lara whispered, “I love you, too, Victor.” The wind
was blowing hard and rushing past his old ears. The leaves were rustling above
his gray head. Victor wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “Is someone there?”
he asked, looking around. But there was no answer. Lara stood silently and felt
tears welling in her eyes. Then she leaned against the fence once moreand
said in a whisper, “I love you, too, Victor.”
The joke was on both of them.Exercise 4.6Sample answers are provided.
The Worst Day of My Life
Everyone has a bad day now and then. But I had the worst. It happened
while I was visiting some people in the city of Boston. They were old friends
of mine and had just moved to the city from our hometown. I loved spending
time in a big city and was looking forward to having some adventures there.222 Answer Key