おじぎ草さんの おぼえた日記 - 2024年5月13日(月)

Unit 8 The Dance
Joan was a nurse in a children’s hospital. One evening there was a big dance at the hospital. Most of the doctors and nurses would be there, but of course some had to stay to look after the children, and Joan was not one of the lucky ones who were free to go to the dance. She liked dancing very much, so she felt very sorry for herself.
She went to each sick child one after the other and said goodnight, until she came to one little boy whom she was very fond of. His name was Dicky, and he was eleven years old, but he already talked like an adult. Poor Dicky had had a very serious illness, and now he was hardly able to move any part of his body except his hands. Joan knew that he would never get any better, but he was always happy and always thinking about other people instead of about himself.
He knew that Joan loved dancing, so now, when she came to say goodnight to him, he said, ‘ I’m very sorry that you have to miss the dance because of us. But we’re going to have a party for you. If you look in my drawer, you’ll find a piece of cake. I saved it from my supper today, so it’s quite fresh. And I’d get up and dance with you myself if I were able to,’ he added.
Suddenly the hospital dance seemed not at all important to Joan.


Words and phrases
dance ダンスパーティ
free to 自由に〜できる
one after the other 次々に
not important to at all 全く重要でない、実にちっぽけな存在である


Dicky is so tender and thoughtful !
He is a very warm boy who thinks about other people.


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