 196  Then one day George had to make an important speech at a formal official ceremony marking the opening of a new library. He had been away on urgent business for a week before this occasion, so he had had no time to read through his speech at all. When it was his turn to speak to the audience, he stood up on the stage, took his speech out of his pocket and began to read it. He enjoyed jokes, and always asked his speechwriter to put a few good ones in each speech he wrote for him, to put his audience in good temper. This time, sure enough, he came to the words, «And that reminds me of one of my favourite stories». George had actually never heard that story before, and when he looked at it before reading it aloud, he burst out laughing and laughed so much that he fell off the platform on which he was standing and broke his arm. №17 Johnny was three when he ran away from home for the first time. Somebody left the garden gate open. Johnny wandered out, crossed some fields, and two hours later, arrived in the next village. He was just able to give his name and address. By the time he was seven, Johnny used to vanish from home two to three times a year. Sometimes he covered quite long distances on foot. On other occasions he got on a bus or even a train, and simply sat there until someone asked for his ticket. Generally the police brought him home. «Why do you do it?» they used to ask. «You aren't unhappy at home, are you?» «Of course not,» Johnny replied. «Then why?» «I just like seeing places,» Johnny told them. Johnny continued to «see places» although everyone tried to stop him. His parents used to watch him closely, and so did his teachers; but sooner or later Johnny managed to slip away. As he grew older, his favourite trick was to hide on a long distance lorry. Sometimes he used to travel hundreds of miles before anyone discovered him. It is hardly surprising that eventually Johnny managed to get on board a plane. He was twelve at the time. It was a cargo plane and, a few hours later, Johnny found himself in Cairo. How did he get on board? No one knows! According to Johnny himself, it was easy: he just went into the airport, walked along some corridors and got on board the nearest plane. In spite of all this, Johnny did well at school. He enjoyed maths and languages and, perhaps not surprisingly, he was especially good at geography. «What do you want to be when you grow up?» his teacher asked him. Johnny did not take long to answer that question. «An explorer!» he answered. «But it's difficult to become an explorer in this modern age,» they tried to tell him, «unless you go into space!» But it was no use: Johnny knew what he wanted! 196 |
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