Runnig For Her Life

  Some people are courageous in war and politics.   Courage makes us stronger.   And when we act bravely, we make the world a better placefor other people too.   When good people act bravely, we want them to win.   We can fight our own problems with more courage after we read truestories like these.   Running for her Life A small woman lay in the hospital in Havana.   Terrible burns covered her body.   She could notmove and she could not see.   She could hear a voice close to her bed.   "If Ana lives," the doctor said, "she will never run again."   But AnaQuirot, the famous international runner, could not accept these words.   Ana Fidelia Quirot was born in a small town in the east of Cuba.   Shewas a happy child and from an early age she loved running.   Sports were important to her family and they were important to Cuba too.     TheCuban government wanted to produce the best doctors, the smartest teachers, and the strongest sports players in the world.    There werespecial government schools for intelligent young scientists and for children who were good at sports.   By the time she was ten years old Anacould run very fast.   Soon she was winning races-often without shoes!   She wanted someone from a government sports school to see her.   Ana knewthat only Cuba's best students were chosen.   So she practiced hard every day.   At last she heard the news that she was waiting for.