本刊資料

Gilbert Benson was 35 years old and very sad. He was walking on the streets of New York with his head down.

He walked and walked， not thinking about where he was going. Gilbert had lost all of his money in the stock market that morning， and he felt like his life was over. He was very depressed. He knew that the woman he was in love with would not want to marry him now.

“Yesterday I had many friends，” Gilbert thought to himself. “But today I dont even have one friend. Yesterday the sun was shining in the sky， but today the sky is gray. The sun will never shine on me again. Im finished. And it is my own fault. I have no one to blame but myself.”

Gilbert was raised in a very poor family. When he was sixteen years old， he started working in a shoe store. First he was an errand boy， then a salesman， then a manager， then a part-owner， then the owner of one shoe store， then the owner of two shoe stores， and finally the owner of three shoe stores. Life was good for him， but Gilbert was tired of working so hard. He wanted to get rich fast， so he decided to invest his money. He made a bad investment， however， and lost everything he had worked so hard for — his money and his shoe stores were gone forever.

Gilbert walked and walked， not looking where he was going. He started to cross a street when suddenly he felt a hand grab his shoulder and pull him back. A car rushed past him. It all happened quickly， and Gilbert realised that the light was flashing “dont walk”. If he had walked out into the street， he would have been hit and possibly killed by the car. “I wish that I had been killed，” Gilbert thought. He looked around to see who had stopped him from crossing the street， but no one was there. “I guess that was my guardian angel，” Gilbert said to himself. Then he laughed out loud because he didnt believe in guardian angels.

Gilbert continued to walk. He still felt bad and sorry for himself， and he kept thinking how his life couldve ended just minutes ago. He thought about the car hitting him， and then he started thinking about other ways to hurt himself. No one would care — he didnt have any friends， and his girlfriend would only love him if he had money.

Then from far away， Gilbert heard the loud sound of sirens. “Someone else is hurt，” he thought， and he wished it were him. The sound got louder and louder， and soon a fire engine rushed past Gilbert. Many people saw the fire engine and started running after it. Gilbert decided to follow them. At the end of the street there was a huge house on fire. The people crowded around the house while policemen tried to keep them back. One woman was screaming through the crowd， “Lucy！ Lucy！ My child is still in the house. Help！ I have to get inside and save Lucy！”

She pushed through the crowd， scared and worried. A policeman grabbed her. “You cant go in there now，” he shouted. “The flames are up to the third floor， and its very dangerous.”

“You dont understand！” The woman shouted， “Its Lucy， my daughter. I cant live without Lucy. Shes in the house. Please help！”

Suddenly Gilbert understood. He realised how scared and sad the woman must feel， and he knew he needed to help her. He ran behind the house. There， in a window on the third floor， he saw Lucy. She was holding a blanket and crying. People were shouting all kinds of things to her， but she didnt move. Gilbert came closer to the house. The flames were getting bigger and bigger behind the little girl. Then her eyes met his. He reached out his arms for her， motioning that he would catch her. The little girl let go of her blanket and jumped. He caught her just as the window began to burn. The little girl held him with all her strength. Suddenly， Gilbert felt like a very different person.

Gilbert walked home that afternoon with his head up. He was no longer thinking about all the money he had lost. He wasnt thinking that maybe his girlfriend wouldnt love him anymore， or how he wanted to die. The afternoon sun still seemed bright， and as Gilbert stopped at a street corner， he felt something like a hand touch him kindly on his back as the light turned green.

（本刊資料）