Looking
up, Ashley said, "Wow! That slide is as high as a house!"
"Yeah,
let's go!" said Lexi as she hurried up the ladder.
Ashley
slowly backed away.
"Aren't
you coming?" yelled Lexi from the top of the slide.
Ashley
frowned. "No thanks. I'm going to go swing."
Each
time her friends asked her if she was going down the slide,
Ashley made up a new excuse. The only problem was she was
running out of excuses. All she could think about was how
much it hurt to get stitches in her head when she fell off
her slide at home.
The
next day at school, Ashley was feeling brave so she decided
to try it. She walked up to the slide as high as a house with
wobbly legs and butterflies in her tummy. She started up the
ladder. She suddenly began to sweat and her heart began to
race!
"I
can't do it! I'll fall!" she cried.
"You
CAN do it!" yelled her friends.
But
Ashley climbed back down with her head hanging low. A little
later she told her friends, "It looks like you guys are having
so much fun! I want to go down the slide but I'm scared. Do
you guys think you can help me?"
"Sure!"
said Grant.
"You
bet!" squealed Sage.
"What
can we do to help?" offered Vince.
"Well,"
Ashley said, "sometimes when I'm cleaning my room I sing so
I forget what I'm doing. Maybe we can all sing a song!"
"How
about Row,Row,Row Your Boat?" suggested Grant.
"That
doesn't seem right." said Ashley.
"Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star?" added Sage.
"Nope."
"I've
got it!" Lexi exclaimed, "How about, Ashley, Ashley, she's
our friend, if she can't do it, no one can!"
"That's
the one! Let's do it right away when we get to the park so
I don't lose my nerve!" said Ashley.
Vince
was the first one to the slide. Everyone sang, "Vince, Vince
he's our friend, if he can't do it, no one can!"
And
on it went down the line with Lexi, Grant and Sage. Finally
it was Ashley's turn. Her legs were a little less wobbly and
the butterflies in her tummy had quieted down. She was feeling
braver and braver with every step. At the top she closed her
eyes and took a deep breath. She could hear her friends singing
so she began to sing with them. "Ashley, Ashley, she's our
friend, if she can't do it, no one can! Ashley, Ashley, she's
our friend, if she can't do it, no one can!"
She
could hardly believe it! Before she knew it, she had pushed
herself down the slide as high as a house! She was at the
bottom on her feet, not on her head!
Everyone
was cheering and jumping up and down! But no one was cheering
more than Ashley! "Thank you all for helping me! The singing
worked! Let's do it again!"
Lexi
added, "Yeah! Or maybe this time we can find a slide as high
as a hilltop!"
"I
don't think so! Let's stick with this one for awhile!"
And
that's just what Ashley and her friends did. Everyday at the
park they would race to the slide as high as a house to see
which name they were going to sing first.
Ashley
felt very proud of herself for asking for help when she needed
it and for facing her fear of the slide. She had more fun
going down the slide with her friends instead of just watching
them!
