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Marina was extremely afraid of the dark. When the lights went out, everything and every shadow appeared to her as the most terrible of monsters.Her parents explained to her, everyday and with great patience, that these things were not monsters.Marina understood her parents, but she could not stop feeling an awful fear whenever it was dark.
One day her Aunt Valerie came to visit. Valerie was an incredible woman.She was famous for her courage, and for having gone on many journeys of adventure, some of which had been made into books and movies.Marina wanted to conquer her fear of the dark, so she asked her Aunt how she became so brave, and whether she had ever been frightened.
"A great many times, Marina，"answered her Aunt，"I remember when I was small and I was terribly afraid of the dark.I couldn't stay in the dark for even a moment".
Marina became very excited. How was it possible that someone so courageous could have been afraid of the dark?
"I'll tell you a secret, Marina. It was some blind children who taught me how to be brave.They can't see, so if they had never discovered the secret of how not to be afraid of the dark, they would have been forever frightened".
"It's true！"said Marina, intrigued，"Can you tell me that secret?"
"Of course！The secret is to change your eyes. Since blind children can't see, their hands are their eyes.All you have to do to conquer your fear is what they do.Shut the eyes of your face and open the eyes of your hands.Let's make a deal：tonight, when you go to bed and put out the light, if anything makes you afraid, close your eyes, carefully get out of bed, and try to see what it is that's making you scared.But do it using your hands as eyes……and tomorrow tell me how you're getting on with the fear".
Marina accepted, but she was rather worried. She knew she would need to be brave to close her eyes and go and touch whatever it was that was frightening her；but she was willing to try because she was already too old for this.When her parents took her to bed, she herself put out the light.After a little while, she felt afraid of one of the shadows in the bedroom.Following the advice of Aunt Valerie, she closed the eyes of her face and opened the eyes of her hands.And, summoning up all her courage, she went over to touch that mysterious shadow……
The next morning Marina came running into the kitchen, a big smile on her face, and a song on her lips."The monster is so soft and smooth！……"she cried，"It's my teddy bear！"
玛丽娜特别怕黑。每当关灯之后，所有的东西和影子在她看来都是最最可怕的怪物。她的爸爸妈妈每天都很耐心地和她解释这些东西并不是怪物。玛丽娜明白爸爸妈妈的意思，但每到天黑她还是控制不住感到恐惧。
一天，她的姑姑瓦莱丽来家里做客。瓦莱丽是个了不起的女人。她是出了名的有胆量。她经历过很多冒险之旅，有些还写成了书，甚至拍成了电影。玛丽娜想要克服自己对黑暗的恐惧，所以问姑姑她怎么变得这么勇敢，她是否害怕过。
“很多次呢，玛丽娜，”姑姑回答说。“我记得小时候我很怕黑。在黑暗中我连一小会儿都不敢待。”
玛丽娜变得非常兴奋。一个这么有胆量的人怎么可能也怕过黑呢？
“告诉你个秘密，玛丽娜。是一些失明的孩子教会我怎样变勇敢的。他们看不见，所以如果他们不发现不怕黑的秘密，那他们就会永远活在恐惧里。”
“是的！”玛丽娜很感兴趣地说，“能告诉我那个秘密吗？”
“当然了！秘密就是改变你的眼睛。因为盲童看不到，他们的手就是他们的眼睛。你按照他们的做法来做，就可以克服恐惧了。闭上你脸上的眼睛，睁开你手上的眼睛。我们说好了：今晚，在你上床关灯后如果有什么东西让你害怕，你就闭上眼睛，小心下床，试着看看是什么东西让你害怕。但要用你的手当眼睛……等明天你再告诉我是怎么应对恐惧的。”
玛丽娜同意了，但是她非常担心。她知道她要很勇敢才能闭上眼睛去触碰让她害怕的东西。但她愿意试一试，因为她已经很大了，不应该再害怕了。当父母带她上床睡觉的时候，她关上灯。没过一会儿，她就觉得房间里的一个影子很可怕。按照姑姑的瓦莱丽的建议，她闭上眼睛，以手当眼，鼓足了勇气，走过去触摸那个神秘的影子……
第二天早上，玛丽娜跑进厨房，脸上挂着大大的微笑，嘴里哼着歌。她大喊，“怪物好软好滑啊！”“原来是我的玩具熊！”
Moral of the Story：
A way to overcome fear of darkness in children is through imagination and creativity.
故事寓意：
克服孩子怕黑的一种方法是通过想象和创造力。
词海拾贝：
monster[ˈmɔnstə]n.怪物；巨人
incredible[inˈkredəbl]adj.难以置信的，惊人的
conquer[ˈkɔŋkə]vt.战胜，征服
courageous[kəˈreidʒəs]adj.有胆量的，勇敢的
put out 熄灭
mysterious[misˈtiəriəs]adj.神秘的；不可思议的
summon up 鼓起，唤起；振作
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