Name: __________________________ Date:
______________
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The Yellow
Ribbon
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My Notes
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Jane
wore a yellow ribbon around her neck everyday. And I mean everyday, rain or
shine, whether it matched her outfit or not. It annoyed her best friend
Johnny after awhile. He was her next-door neighbor and had known Jane since
she was three. When he was young, he had barely noticed the yellow ribbon,
but now they were in high school together, it bothered him.
Why
do you wear that yellow ribbon around your neck, Jane?? He would ask her
every day. But she would not tell him.
Still,
in spite of this aggravation, Johnny thought she was cute. He asked her to
the soda shop for an ice cream sundae. Then he asked her to watch him play in
the football game. Then he started seeing her home. And come the spring, he
asked her to the dance. Jane always said yes when he asked her out. And she
always wore a yellow dress to match the ribbon around her neck.
It
finally occurred to Johnny that he and Jane were going steady, and he still didn't
know why she wore the yellow ribbon around her neck. So he asked her about it
yet again, and yet again she did not tell him. Maybe someday I'll tell you
about it, she'd reply. Someday! That answer annoyed Johnny, but he shrugged
it off, because Jane was so cute and fun to be with.
Well,
time flew past, as it has a habit of doing, and one day Johnny proposed to
Jane and was accepted. They planned a big wedding, and Jane hinted that she
might tell him about the yellow ribbon around her neck on their wedding day.
But somehow, what with the preparations and his beautiful bride, and the
lovely reception, Johnny never got around to asking Jane about it. And when
he did remember, she got a bit teary-eyed, and said: We are so happy
together, what difference does it make?? And Johnny decided she was right.
Johnny
and Jane raised a family of four, with the usual ups and downs, laughter and
tears. When their golden anniversary rolled around, Johnny once again asked
Jane about the yellow ribbon around her neck. It was the first time he'd
brought it up since the week after their wedding. Whenever their children
asked him about it, he'd always hushed them, and somehow none of the kids had
dared ask their mother.
Jane
gave Johnny a sad look and said: Johnny, you've waited this long. You can
wait awhile longer.
And
Johnny agreed. It was not until Jane was on her deathbed a year later that
Johnny, seeing his last chance slip away, asked Jane one final time about the
yellow ribbon she wore around her neck. She shook her head a bit at his
persistence, and then said with a sad smile: Okay Johnny, you can go ahead
and untie it.
With
shaking hands, Johnny fumbled for the knot and untied the yellow ribbon
around his wife's neck.
And
Jane's head fell off.
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