学进去

It’s half past seven on Monday morning: time to get ready for school. Jay Stone rolled out of bed. He did a couple of quick wake-up exercises and then he went over to a mirror and looked at himself.

“Not bad, Stone, not bad,” he said to himself and smiled. Maybe he wasn’t ready for Hollywood, but with his dark broad eyes and his thick brown hair, he had the looks that turned girls’ heads. He moved in closer to the mirror and smiled, checking his teeth.

“Perfect,” he thought, “Good enough for a toothpaste ad.”

As his eyes moved down to his strong arms and chest he smiled again. The hours he spent on the playground and doing sit-ups have paid off!

But suddenly, the smile froze(僵住) on his lips. His eyes moved from the upper part of his body down to his legs. His legs were short. Not just short, but far too short for his body. He had the upper body of a six feet boy, but because of his legs, he was much less than six feet. Sitting, he was as tall as almost anyone in his class. Standing, he had to look up at most of the boys and even many of the girls.

Why didn’t his legs grow with the rest of his body? At five feet six inches(英寸), he was one of the shortest boys in his class. He was the shortest in his own family, and he was even shorter than his little sister — by three inches! Where did his legs come from?

He certainly didn’t get them from his parents. They were both quite tall. Looking through old photos in the family album, he found the answer. It was his grandfather on his mother’s side. His short legs were a gift from Grandpa Tuttle. Thanks a lot, Grandpa!