By+Joanne+Anderson+安落实

有时候，我们会做一些看似根本不可能的事情，也会因此而遭到别人的嘲笑、否定。但不尝试怎知就一定不可能？即便最终无果，谁又能保证不会收获意外的惊喜？

After school， Emily hung her yellow canvas1） bag over her shoulder， and pedaled2） off to catch the wind.

Emily's neighbor， Mrs. Hill， shook out a wet pillowcase3） and fastened it on the clothes line4）.

"Hello， Mrs. Hill，" called Emily. "I need to catch the wind in my yellow bag. Will you help me？"

"Catch the wind？ Whatever for？" asked Mrs. Hill.

"For the big race at school，" said Emily. "I will need the wind at my back or I will finish last."

"You cannot catch the wind，" said Mrs. Hill.

"But your sheets have caught the wind，" Emily said. "See them flapping back and forth？"

"I guess that is true， Emily，" agreed Mrs. Hill. "But today I need all this wind to dry my clothes."

"Oh，" said Emily. "Maybe I can catch the wind tomorrow." She turned and pedaled for home.

The next afternoon， Emily hung her yellow bag over her shoulder and pedaled off to catch the wind. In the distance， she saw a box kite soaring high in the sky. As she pedaled toward it， she saw a boy in a plaid5） jacket tugging6） on the kite string.

"Can you help me？" Emily asked. "I need to catch the wind."

The boy turned and laughed. "What a silly idea！" he said. "No one can catch the wind."

"But your kite has caught the wind，" said Emily. "Otherwise it would fall to the ground."

"Well then， I need all the wind to fly my kite，" the boy told her.

Emily frowned.

The next day， Emily once again pedaled off to catch the wind. She pedaled by a silvery-blue lake and watched quietly as a sailboat neared the shore.

"Please， Sir，" she called to the skipper7）， "could you help me catch the wind in my bag？"

"You cannot catch the wind！" the skipper answered.

"But your sails have caught the wind，" Emily told him.

"So they have！" the skipper laughed. "And I need all this wind to sail my boat." He waved goodbye and sailed across the lake.

"I will catch the wind all by myself，" Emily said. She pedaled to the nearest hill. She parked her bike at the bottom and began the long climb to the top. Emily's legs ached， but she kept going. The higher she climbed， the stronger the wind got. When Emily reached the top， she unzipped8） the yellow bag and held it above her head.

Suddenly a powerful blast of cool air swept across the hilltop and filled her bag like a yellow balloon.

Emily quickly zipped the bag shut. "Thank you， wind！" she yelled happily.

On the day of the race， Emily stood at the starting line. She thought about the yellow bag hanging over her shoulder and the blustery9） wind inside. She thought about how the wind had helped all the people she had met. Surely it would help her， too.

The whistle blew. The runners started together， but soon Emily fell behind. I will not finish last this time， she thought. Emily pulled on the zipper. The yellow bag opened， but nothing happened. "Where are you， wind？" she called.

Suddenly Emily's legs began to move faster. "Thank you， wind，" she cried. "Trying to catch you on my bicycle every day has made my legs much stronger！"

The finish line was up ahead. Emily stretched out her powerful legs and crossed the finish line ahead of the other runners. At that moment， a cool wind from the hilltop swept down. Maybe—just maybe—Emily did catch the wind after all.

放学后，埃米莉把她的黄色帆布包往肩上一挎，就骑着自行车去捕风了。

埃米莉的邻居希尔太太抖开一个湿的枕套，把它固定在晾衣绳上。

“你好，希尔太太，”埃米莉喊道，“我需要把我的黄色帆布包鼓满风。你能帮助我吗？”

“鼓满风？那有什么用呢？”希尔太太问。

“为了参加学校组织的大赛，”埃米莉说， “我需要背后有风，不然我会跑最后一名的。”

“你是无法捕捉到风的。”希尔太太说。

“可是你的床单就捕捉到风了，”埃米莉说，“你看它们不是在来回摆动吗？”

“我想真是这么回事，埃米莉，”希尔太太赞同道，“可是今天我需要所有这些风来吹干我的衣服。”

“噢，”埃米莉说，“也许我可以明天去捕风。”她掉头骑着车回家了。

第二天下午，埃米莉把她的黄色帆布包挎在肩上，骑着自行车去捕风。她看到远处有一只箱形风筝在天空中展翅高飞。她朝风筝骑过去，看到一个穿着格子上衣的男孩在拽风筝线。

“你能帮助我吗？”埃米莉问道，“我需要捕捉风。”

男孩转过身来，哈哈大笑。“多愚蠢的想法啊！”他说，“没有人能捕捉到风。”

“可你的风筝就捕捉到了啊，”埃米莉说，“不然它就会掉到地上。”

“那么，我需要所有的风来让我的风筝飞起来。”男孩对她说。

埃米莉皱了皱眉头。

第二天，埃米莉又骑着车去捕风。她骑到一个银蓝色的湖旁边，静静地看着一艘帆船靠近岸边。

“先生，请问，”她冲着船长喊道，“您能帮我把我的包鼓满风吗？”

“你不可能捕捉到风！”船长回答道。

“可您的帆已经捕捉到了啊。”埃米莉对他说。

“的确是这样！”船长笑着说，“但我需要所有这些风来扬帆起航。”他挥手告别，驾船驶过了湖面。

“我要靠自己的力量来捕捉风。”埃米莉说。她骑到最近的山冈，把自行车停在山脚下，开始长途跋涉，向山顶攀登。埃米莉走得腿都疼了，但她还坚持往上爬。她爬得越高，风刮得越猛。当埃米莉爬到山顶时，她拉开黄色帆布包的拉链，把它举过头顶。

突然，一阵强劲的凉风扫过山顶，把她的帆布包吹得鼓鼓的，就像吹一只黄色的气球一样。

埃米莉迅速拉上帆布包的拉链。“谢谢你，风！”她高兴地喊道。

比赛那天，埃米莉站在起跑线上。她想到肩上挎着的黄色帆布包和包里装着的狂风，想到风曾如何帮助过她遇到的所有人。风肯定也会助她一臂之力的。

哨声响了，赛跑者们一起出发，但很快埃米莉就落到了后面。我这次决不会跑成最后一名，她心想。埃米莉拉开拉链，黄色帆布包打开了，但什么也没有发生。“风，你在哪里啊？”她呼唤道。

突然间，埃米莉双腿奔跑的速度开始加快。“谢谢你，风！”她喊道，“每天骑自行车试图捕捉你使我的腿强壮了许多！”

终点线就在前方。埃米莉迈出有力的双腿，抢在其他参赛者之前跨过了终点线。就在那一刻，一阵凉爽的风从山顶刮了下来。也许，仅仅是也许，埃米莉最终真的捕捉到了风。

1.canvas [?k?nv?s] n. 帆布

2.pedal [?pedl] vi. 蹬自行车；骑自行车

3.pillowcase [?p?l??ke?s] n. 枕套

4.clothes line [?kl???z la?n] n. 晾衣绳

5.plaid [pl?d] n. 方格布；方格花纹

6.tug [t?ɡ] vi. 使劲拉；拽

7.skipper [?sk?p?（r）] n. （小商船等的）船长

8.unzip [??n?z?p] vt. 拉开（拉链）

9.blustery [?bl?st?ri] adj. （天气）狂暴的；狂风大作的