Grandma is ninety this Christmas. I remember once visiting her, crying when my big sister told me "There is no Santa Claus!", because I knew she always told the 1 .
"No Santa Claus?" she snorted (哼着说). "Ridiculous! Don't 2 it. That rumor has been going around for years. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."
"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked.
"Where" 3 to be Kerby's General Store. As we walked in, Grandma handed me twenty dollars. "Take the money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you outdoors."
I was only eight years old, and had never 4 for anything alone. For a few moments I just stood there, 5 , wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
Suddenly I 6 Bobbie, a kid sitting behind me in the classroom. He didn't have a coat; he never 7 during the winter. I held the bill excitedly. I would buy Bobbie a coat. I saw a red one with a hat to it. It looked really 8 . He would like that.
That 9 , Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and write, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it. Then she drove me to Bobbie's house. Grandma 10 down the street, and we hid in the bushes by his front walkway. Then Grandma pushed me 11 . "All right, Santa Claus, get going!" she whispered.
I took a deep breath dashed for his front door, 12 the present down, rang his doorbell and flew back. Together we waited 13 in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie.
Forty years haven't 14 the excitement of those moments. That night, I realized those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said: they were 15 . Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.