親愛的長腿叔叔：

    昨天黃昏，我坐在病床上，看著窗外的雨絲，感覺大醫院的生活無聊至極，此時護士送來一個白色長盒子，裹面裝滿了漂亮的粉紅色玫瑰。更令人愉快的是，裹面還有一張措辭優雅的短箋，一筆有趣的左斜體，一點點爬升上去，不過字寫得很有個性。謝謝你，長腿叔叔，千言萬語，感激不盡。這是我生平第一次真正的

禮物。我就像小孩一樣躺下來大哭，因為我實在太高興了。

    現在，我知道你確實讀了我的信，我會寫得更有趣一點。這樣才值得用紅緞帶紮起來放在保險櫃吧，但請把那封糟糕的信拿出來燒掉，我真不想讓你再讀到它。

    感謝你把快樂帶給一個大病一場，脾氣壞，又可憐的大一學生。你可能有很多愛你的家人朋友，不知寂寞為何物，但我知道。

    再見。我保證不再惹人厭，因為我知道你確有其人。而且我保證不再隨便問你問題了。

    你還討厭女孩嗎？

永遠是你的朱蒂

4月4日於學校醫院

The infirmary

April 4^th

Dearest Daddy-Long-legs,

     Yesterday evening just toward dark, when I was sitting up in bed looking out at the rain and feeling awfully bored with life in a great institution, he nurse appeared with along white x addressed to me, and filled with the loveliest pink rosebuds.  And much nicer still, it contained a card with a very polite message written in a funny little uphill backhand (but one which shows a great deal of character).  Thank you, Daddy, a thousand times.  Your flowers make the first real, true present I ever received in my life.  If you want to know what a baby I am, I lay down and cried because I was so happy.

    Now that I am sure you read my letters, I’ll make them much more interesting, so they’ll be wroth keeping in a safe with red tape around them―only please take out that dreadful one and burn it up.  I’d hate to think that you ever read it over.

     Thank you for making a very sick, cross, miserable freshman cheerful.  Probably you have lots of loving family and friends, and you don’t know what it feels like to be alone.  But I do.

     Good-bye―I’ll promise never to be horrid again, because now I know you’re a real person; also I’ll promise never to bother you with any more questions.

     Do you still hate girls?

Yours forever,

Judy