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"England
and Cambodia will be so much fun and now that there are so many Stanleys,
it's easy to choose to go off with all my new friends to travel the
world," thought Stanley. "But
where is that other place that Uncle Robert said I could go?" wondered
Stanley as he walked with Uncle Robert back through the halls of the
university. "Where are we going, Uncle Robert?" asked Stanley when he realized that they had not returned to Uncle Robert's office. "I want you to meet my friend Virginia. She is leaving for Borneo and I thought we could ask her if one of the Stanley's might fit in her pack," said Uncle Robert "Borneo? I don't know where Borneo is. Are you sure I want to go there?" asked Stanley. "Let's talk to Virginia and then you can decide," replied Uncle Robert. "It might be fun. Virginia likes to play outside." Just then, Uncle Robert stepped through a blue door into an office that looked a bit like Uncle Robert's office, except there weren't so many books and there were big windows instead." "Hi, Virginia," said Uncle Robert to the woman who was reading at her desk. "This is my new friend Stanley. We wanted to come say hello." "Oh, hello, Stanley," replied Virginia. "My, you are very flat. You didn't get ironed or something worse, did you?" "I certainly didn't get ironed," laughed Stanley. "That would be very hot. Uncle Robert told me you are going to Borneo. Where is that?" "Borneo is an island in the South China Sea that is close to Malaysia and the Philippines," said Virginia. "I can show you on my map."
"I'm going to go there to climb a mountain. The mountain is called Mt. Kinabalu. It is over 13,000 feet high and is the highest peak in Southeast Asia. It looks like you would fit into my pack. Do you want to go mountain climbing with me?" Stanley had to think for a moment. It would be fun to go to an island, but would it be fun to climb a mountain? That sounded like it might be challenging. "What happens if I grow very tired?" Stanley asked Virginia. "Well, I will carry you. I'm going to take my pack up the mountain." The idea of mountain climbing without the climbing part sounded good to
Stanley. He said, "I think
I will go with you. I would
like to go to the highest spot in all of Southeast Asia.
Uncle Robert, let's leave one of me with Virginia so I can go
mountain climbing in Borneo." "That sounds swell, Stanley," said Uncle Robert. Uncle Robert and Stanley made sure Virginia would take good care of Stanley and then they left to go find Aunt Louise. The next day, Stanley went to the Hong Kong airport with Virginia and her friend Ellie, who would also climb the mountain. Because Virginia was worried that Stanley could get lost if she left him in her pack for the airplane ride, she carried him inside her book on to the plane.
Soon, they started their climb. It was hot and it was lucky that Stanley wore his short hiking pants and his hiking boots. "This is the start of the trail," said Kin, the mountain guide. "From here, we will climb up, up, up." "Oh, look at all the flowers," said Stanley. "Stanley, we are here to climb a mountain, not a bush!" said Virginia. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," nodded Stanley. "Let's
go. When do we stop for
lunch?" That day, Stanley, Virginia, Ellie and Kin climbed for a long time. They took short breaks and did stop for lunch and a rest. It was a lot of hard work to climb the mountain, but Virginia and Ellie seemed happy. "Why are you so happy?" Stanley asked Virginia. "The mountains make me happy, Stanley. I do grow tired and I have to stop to catch my breath, but I feel so alive when I am in the mountains!" Virginia looked like she might cry, but it wasn't crying from being sad. It was crying from being happy. Stanley wondered what would make him so happy that he would cry. Stanley, Ellie, Virginia and Kin climbed as far as the resthouse. From there, they could see the top of the mountain and also a long way across the Island. There were too many clouds to see the sea. As the sun went down, they saw a rainbow in a very tall cloud. "There is a rainbow but it is not raining," said Stanley. "It is beautiful," said Ellie. Virginia and Ellie were eager to go to bed very early that night. "We have to wake up early," said Virginia. "If you can't sleep, Stanley, you may lie on my bed and read a book."
"That sounds good," said Stanley. "It seems funny that you want to go to bed when you don't have school tomorrow and it is OK to stay up late." It wasn't long before even Stanley fell asleep. The long climb had made him tired. The rest felt very good. It was still very dark when Virginia pulled Stanley out of his bed. "We are going to the top of the mountain, Stanley. It's time." "But it is dark and I'm so sleepy," said Stanley. "We will climb in the dark and then see the sun rise when we are on the top of the mountain," replied Virginia. Through the dark, they trudged up the mountain. Some parts were very steep and they had to hold ropes so they wouldn't fall down the mountain. They walked on and on. Sometimes it was hard to breathe. "I need to stop for a rest," panted Stanley. "I feel like I've been running very hard and we are walking so slowly." "That's because we are high above sea level and there is less oxygen in the air to breathe. You will not hurt yourself up here, but you need to be careful and take rests and also drink lots of water. Perhaps you will feel dizzy. Don't worry. We are here to help you if you don't feel well," said Virginia in a quiet voice.
They pushed forward
and passed some huts. There
were no longer any trees or grass on the ground.
Everywhere it was rock. "We
passed the tree line," explained Virginia.
"It is too hard for trees to grow up here. Virginia was eager to reach the top and pressed ahead of Ellie and Kin. She had that happy crying look in her eyes again. Up, up, up they went. After a while, Virginia sighed. "Stanley, we are here. We are on the top!" Soon Ellie arrived and together they watched for the sunrise. There were too many clouds for the sun to shine, but it was a beautiful view all the same.
"We are above the clouds!" exclaimed Stanley. "It is very beautiful. Now I know why you are happy and want to cry at the same time." "Let's take pictures of us at the top" said Ellie. "Make sure to smile." "This is Easter morning and we are on a mountain top!" said Virginia.
Soon, it was time to go down to the resthouse for breakfast and then take the long walk back down the mountain. "Going down will be much quicker," said Virginia, "but we need to be careful not to fall."
After a quick stop for breakfast, Virginia, Ellie, Stanley and Kin started their descent. "What's this funny looking thing," asked Stanley after a while. "Oh, you have found a pitcher plant," Kin told Stanley. "Can you guess why we call it that?" "Well, there is water inside this round thing. Maybe that is a pitcher," guessed Stanley. "Exactly, Stanley. The plant uses the water in the pitcher to catch insects. The insects die, and the plant slowly eats them by absorbing the bugs' nutrients." "Wow!" said Stanley. "Hey, where did Ellie and Virginia go." "They are running down the mountain," said Kin. "I think they are ready to go to the beach." "The beach?" asked Stanley. "I love beaches!"
Ellie and Virginia were in a hurry to go to the beach. They stayed in a pretty hotel where Stanley could sit on the balcony and watch the sea and the palm trees and rest after the hard climb up the mountain. "It's always good to relax after climbing," said Virginia. "And to relax more before going back to Hong Kong. I hope you had a good time on our short trip to Borneo, Stanley." "I did," said Stanley. "It will be fun to tell Uncle Robert and then Pilar about Mt. Kinabalu." |
