A CHRISTMAS BALL was once afraid of heights. For the period when she was inside the paperbox alongside the other Christmas balls, everything was fine. Yet, as soon as the time came for the housewife to decorate the Christmas tree, she got so anxious with the idea that she would be hanging from the branches of a tree without touching the ground that she lost all sleep.

"Why do I have to go through this?", she murmured to herself. No sooner had she finished the phrase, however, than the housewife grabbed her and hanged her from a branch. Other balls in all sorts of colors followed: red, green and gold, along with shining bright Christmas lights and a golden star that was placed on top of the Christmas tree. So much did the housewife enjoy what she was doing, that she even put fresh acorns she had just gathered from the forest on the branches. Yet, our good Christmas ball was so shocked with the idea that her feet were off the ground that she couldn't speak.

"What's wrong with you?", the other Christmas balls asked her as soon as the housewife finished her job. "I'm so afraid of heights that this feels very uncomfortable", the ball answered to them and they burst into laughter, as her answer seemed ridiculous to them. And so, she remained helpless, avoiding to look at the ground at all costs so as to spare herself from the shock.

A few hours later, the housewife switched the lights of the living room off and went to sleep. As the Christmas lights on the tree kept flashing, however, the Christmas ball still felt uncomfortable, thinking to herself that it would be much more preferable if it were totally dark.

She, then, thought of jumping and plucked up as much  courage as she could. Not really knowing how far from the ground she was she froze the last moment. Much to her surprise, she then saw a cute little squirrel that had sneaked inside to search for acorns, who told her: "My dear ball, you look anxious. What troubles you?".

"My good squirrel, I'm afraid of heights, and as I can't touch the ground with my feet, I don't know how much longer I will be able to stay here", the ball replied.

"You're not afraid of heights, you're afraid of falling", the squirrel told her and climbed up the Christmas tree with grace. She got very jealous to see the squirrel climb up and down with such ease, and thought to herself: "I might as well jump". Yet, after counting backwards from ten and reaching the last number, she felt anxious again: "And if I turn into a thousand pieces?"

No sooner had she finished the phrase than she saw the squirrel that was loaded with acorns jumping on her branch. So big was the pressure, that the branch bended and the balls that were hanging from it started slipping. "No, don'ttt!!!", our good ball shouted at the squirrel as he walked on the branch with a heavy step, until in the end, the branch broke and the balls fell on the ground.

"I thought I heard something in the living room", the housewife's voice was heard saying. She then lit the lights and took a broom to protect herself. As soon as the squirrel saw her, he ran to save his  life. She, then, closed the window and went to the tree, only to discover that none of the balls that had fallen on the ground were damaged or broken.

She put them back on the tree with care, one after another. The last one to be picked from the ground was our good Christmas ball, which she hanged from a branch just below the star at the top of the tree. From that time, not only did she conquer her fear of heights, but she also enjoys the view from her new position.