精彩英语小故事01

精彩英语故事01

今天很美，而我却无法看见

相信很多同学之前都看过这个视频，感动于那位女孩的智慧和语言的魅力。今天我们再来读一读视频中所讲述的故事，并探讨一下其中的寓意。

Enjoy Your Day with Gratitude

生活需要怀抱一颗感恩之心

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

一个双目失明的男孩坐在大楼前的台阶上，脚边摆着一顶帽子。他立了一块牌子，上面写着：“我是瞎子，请帮助我。”那帽子里只有寥寥几枚硬币。

今天很美，而我却无法看见

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

一个路人从旁边走过，他从口袋里拿出几枚硬币，放在帽子里。然后，他拿起牌子，翻到另一面写了些字。随后他把牌子放回去，让所有路过的人都能看见牌子上新写的字。

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked," Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

很快，帽子里的钱就多起来了。越来越多的人把钱给这个失明的孩子。下午，改写牌子的人回来看看情况，男孩听出了他的脚步声，问道：“您是早上帮我改写牌子的人么？您写了什么？”

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way. I wrote: 'Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.'"

那人说：“我只是写出了事实。我表达的意思和你一样，只是用了另一种方式。我写的是：‘今天是美好的一天，而我却无法看见。’”

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

两个牌子都告诉人们男孩是盲人，但第一个牌子只是简单地讲述了这一事实；而第二个牌子却告诉人们，他们是如此幸运，因为他们不是盲人。所以说，第二个牌子效果更佳，并没有什么好惊讶的不是吗？

Moral of the Story:

故事的寓意：

Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

感激你所拥有的一切。要创造，要革新，用不同的方式进行积极的思考。

When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

当生命给你100种哭泣的理由，你要还它1000种微笑的原因。

Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

面对过去无怨无悔，把握现在充满信心，备战未来无所畏惧。保持信念，克服恐惧！

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!

最美好的事，是看到某人的微笑；而更美好的事，是他因你而微笑。

相助The Help

But one night he working late at the Scanlon-Taylor mill, lugging two-by-fours to the truck, 1splinters slicing all the way through the glove. He too small for that kind a work, too skinny, but he needed the job. He was tired. It was raining. He slip off the loading dock, fell down on the drive. Tractor trailer didn't see him and crushed his lungs fore he could move. By the time I found out, he was dead.

一天晚上，他在斯坎伦-泰勒轧机厂干到很晚，拖着的木料往货车上装，木刺划破手套，扎得满手都是。他太瘦，个头又小，干不了那重活儿，可他需要那份工作。他累得支撑不住，天又下雨，他滑倒了，从装卸月台上摔下来，一头栽进车道。拖车司机没瞧见他，他还没来得及挪身，车就从他身上碾过去了。等我找到他的时候，他已经断气了。

That was the day my whole world went black. Air look black, sun look black. I laid up in bed and stared at the black walls a my house. Minny came ever day to make sure I was still breathing, feed me food to keep me living. Took three months fore I even look out the window, see the world still there. I was surprise to see the world didn't stop just cause my boy did.

从那天起，我整个世界都黑了。空气是黑的，太阳是黑的。我躺在床上直愣愣地盯着屋里黑的墙壁。明尼每天都来看我，以确保我还有气息，她喂我进食，让我残喘地活下去。整整三个月后，我才抬眼看窗户外头，看外头的世界是否照旧。我惶惑地发现整个世界竟然没有因为我儿子的死停下半分。

Five months after the funeral, I lifted myself up out a bed. I put on my white uniform and put my little gold cross back around my neck and I went to wait on Miss Leefolt cause she just have her baby girl. But it weren't too long before I seen something in me had changed. A bitter seed was planted inside a me. And I just

didn't feel so accepting anymore.

葬礼之后又过了五个月，我起身下床。我穿上白色制服，又把小小的金十字架戴回脖子上，随后前去服侍李弗特小姐，她刚生下个女娃。但没过多久我便发现我的心已不复从前。苦涩的种子在我体内悄然埋下，我不再那么容易敞开胸怀了。

"GET THE HOUSE straightened up and then go on and fix some of that chicken salad now," say Miss Leefolt.

"把屋子规整规整，再去把鸡肉沙拉准备好。"李弗特太太呼喝着。

It's bridge club day. Every fourth Wednesday a the month. A course I already got everything ready to go—made the chicken salad this morning, ironed the tablecloths yesterday. Miss Leefolt seen me at it too. She ain't but twenty-three years old and she like hearing herself tell me what to do.

每个月的第四个礼拜三是她们的桥牌聚会日。我已经将里里外外拾掇停当——一大早做好了鸡肉沙拉，桌布也在昨天熨烫平整。李弗特太太亲眼瞧着我做完这些。她不过才二十三岁，却很喜欢对我指手画脚，差使我做这干那。

She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to squint through my glasses to iron. I don't hate much in life, but me and that dress is not on good terms.

她已经把我今早熨好的蓝裙子穿上了，那条在腰上密匝匝打了六十五个小褶的裙子，我得戴起眼镜眯上眼才能把那些绿豆大的褶给烫准了。我对家常日子没啥抱怨的，可我和那条裙子实在处不到一块儿去。

"And you make sure Mae Mobley's not coming in on us, now. I tell you, I am so burned up at her—tore up my good stationery into five thousand pieces and I've got fifteen thank-you notes for the Junior League to do…"

"还有，你要管住梅·莫布利，别让她来烦我们。我告诉你吧，她可是把我惹火了，她把我好端端的信纸撕个粉碎，我可还有十五封青年联盟会的感谢信要写呐……"

I arrange the-this and the-that for her lady friends. Set out the good crystal, put the silver service out. Miss Leefolt don't put up no dinky card table like the other ladies do. We sat at the dining room table. Put a cloth on top to cover the big L-shaped crack, move that red flower centerpiece to the sideboard to hide where the wood all scratched. Miss Leefolt, she like it fancy when she do a luncheon. Maybe she trying to make up for her house being small. They ain't rich folk, that I know. Rich folk don't try so hard.

我还在忙着为她的那些太太小姐们准备这个支应那个。我搬出花哨的玻璃杯盏，摆上银质刀叉。李弗特太太没能像其他阔太太那样添置上一张小巧精致的牌桌，我们只得坐在餐桌前打牌。我们在桌上铺上桌布遮住L型的裂隙，又把红色镂花桌饰挪到橱柜那儿，好挡住坑坑洼洼剥落掉渣的木柜。李弗特太太大概想弥补屋子狭小的不足，着意把餐会拾掇得富贵体面。我知道他们不太

富裕，富庶人家可不会这么费劲。

I'm used to working for young couples, but I spec this is the smallest house I ever worked in. It's just the one story. Her and Mister Leefolt's room in the back be a fair size, but Baby Girl's room be tiny. The dining room and the regular living room kind a join up. Only two bathrooms, which is a relief cause I worked in houses where they was five or six. Take a whole day just to clean toilets. Miss Leefolt don't pay but ninety-five cents an hour, less than I been paid in years. But after Treelore died, I took what I could. Landlord wasn't gonna wait much longer. And even though it's small, Miss Leefolt done the house up nice as she can. She pretty good with the sewing machine. Anything she can't buy new of, she just get her some blue material and sew it a cover.

我过去常帮年轻夫妇操持家务，可我揣度着这家是我见过门户最小的人家。整套房子上下不过一层，她和李弗特先生的后屋尚且宽敞，可是梅的房间小得立不住脚。餐厅连着起居室混作一处。他们只有两个卫生间，这倒为我省下不少事，我从前碰上的人家通常都有五六间，光为他们清理厕所就得花上我整整一天。李弗特太太每个钟点只付我九十五美分，我早不止这个价了，但打崔劳死后，我也顾不上挑肥拣瘦，我已经拖欠不起房租了。尽管屋子小得转不开身，可李弗特太太还是费心尽力把它装点得光鲜体面。她很擅长缝连补缀，一旦买不起新家什，她便扯些蓝布头，自裁自缝出个布套子把旧家什装扮上。

Rose, Rose,你究竟爱什么?

John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. Thirteen months ago, in a Florida library he took a book off the shelf and found himself intrigued with the notes in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

约翰正在等一个带着玫瑰花的女孩，他和她深交已久，却素未谋面。13个月前，在佛罗里达的图书馆里他从书架上拿下一本书。写在书的空白处的批注引起了他的兴趣。从柔和的字迹可以看出，这是自一位有思想、有见解的人。

In front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

他从书皮上发现了这本书原来主人的名字——哈里斯·玛尼尔小姐。他花了一些时间和精力，最后终于找到了她的地址。他给她写了一封信，信中做了自我介绍，并邀请她回信。

During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A Romance was budding. John requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. Later they scheduled their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.

在随后的一年零一个月里，两个人通过信件加深了彼此之间的了解。一段浪漫的故事正在慢慢孕育。约翰要求她寄一张照片来，但她却拒绝了。她觉得如果他真的在乎她，那么她长相如何并不重要。后来他们安排了他们的第一次见面——晚上七点钟在纽约中心火车站。

"You'll recognize me, " she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.

“你会认出我的，”她写道，“我会把一朵红玫瑰别在衣领上。”所以那天晚上七点钟他就在车站寻找那位带着红玫瑰的女孩。

A young woman in a green suit was coming toward him, her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40. The girl was walking quickly away. He felt as though he split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld his own.

一位身穿绿色衣服的年轻女子向他走来，她身材修长而苗条，眼睛蓝蓝的，美如鲜花。他几乎是不由自主地向她走进近。就在那时，他看见了——哈里斯·玛尼尔——一位年过40的女人。女孩很快地走开了。他感觉自己好像被分裂成了两半——他是多么强烈地想跟随这位年轻女子，然而又是如此深深地向往这位在心灵上陪伴他、鼓舞他的女人。

He did not hesitate. He squared his shoulders and said, "I'm John, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

他没有迟疑，挺起胸膛，说道，“我是约翰，你一定是玛尼尔小姐吧。我很高兴你来和我相见，我能请你吃饭吗？”

The woman smiled, "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

女人笑了笑，回答说：“孩子，我不知道这是怎么回事，但是那位穿绿衣的年轻女子请求我把这朵玫瑰别在我的外套上面。她说如果你邀请我吃饭的话，我就告诉你她在马路对面的餐厅等你。她说这是一种考验！”

It's not difficult to admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in it's response to the unattractive.

玛尼尔小姐的智慧让人敬佩。一个人对那些平淡无奇的事物的表现恰恰反映出他内心的本质。

成功的人生不设限

My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally — but would never run very well. The

first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't know he had a problem when you saw him walk .

我的儿子琼尼降生时，他的双脚向上弯弯着，医生向我们保证说经过治疗，小琼尼可以像常人一样走路，但像常人一样跑步的可能性则微乎其微。琼尼3岁之前一直在接受治疗，和支架、石膏模子打交道。七八岁的时候，他走路的样子已让人看不出他的腿有过毛病。

The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn't know.

邻居的小孩子们做游戏的时候总是跑过来跑过去。毫无疑问小琼尼看到他们玩就会马上加进去跑啊闹的。我们从不告诉他不能像别的孩子那样跑，我们从不说他和别的孩子不一样。因为我们不对他说，所以他不知道。

In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross—country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others —perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn't tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.

七年级的时候，琼尼决定参加跑步横穿全美的比赛。每天他和大伙一块训练。也许是意识到自己先天不如别人，他训练得比任何人都刻苦。训练队的前7名选手可以参加最后比赛，为学校拿分。我们没有告诉琼尼；也许会落空，所以他不知道。

He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day — even the day he had a 103—degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn't run four miles with a 103—degree fever. So he didn't know.

他坚持每天跑4~5英里。我永远不会忘记有一次，他发着高烧，但仍坚持训练。我为他担心，于是去学校看他，发现他正在一个人沿着长长的林荫道跑步呢。我问他感觉怎么样，"很好。"他说。还剩下最后两英里。他满脸是汗，眼睛因为发烧失去了光彩。然而他目不斜视，坚持着跑下来。我们从没有告诉他不能发着高烧去跑4英里的路，我们从没有这样对他说，所以他不知道。

Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade — the other six team members were all eighth—graders. We never told him he shouldn't expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn't do it. We never told him he couldn't do it...so he didn't know. He just did it.

两个星期后，在决赛前的3天，长跑队的名次被确定下来。琼尼是第六名，

他成功了。他才是个七年级生，而其余的人都是八年级生。我们从没有告诉他不要去期望入选，我们从没有对他说他不会成功。是的，从没说起过……所以他不知道，但他却做到了！

翅膀断了,心也要飞翔

If you choose only to complain and escape from the ordeal, it will always follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

面对苦难，如果选择抱怨与逃避，苦难就永远如影随形；但如果选择坚强，苦难便会化作甘泉，滋润美好的希望。

He lost his arms in an accident that claimed his father's life—who was the main source of support for the family. Since then, he has had to depend on the arms of his younger brother. For the sake of taking care of him, his younger brother became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life.

在一次事故中，作为家中顶梁柱的父亲永远地离去了，他也因此失去了双手。从此弟弟的手便成了他的手。为了照顾他，弟弟从小到大总是形影不离地跟在他的身边，他除了学会了用脚趾头写字做作业外，生活上完全不能自理。

One late night, he suffered from diarrhea and had to wake up his younger brother. His younger brother accompanied him into the toilet and then went back the dorm to wait. But being so tired, his younger brother fell asleep, leaving him on the toilet for two hours till the teacher on duty discovered him. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their share of problems and they would often quarrel. Then one day, his younger brother wanted to live separate from him, living his own life, as many normal people do. So he was heart-broken and didn't know what to do.

有一次，他因肠胃不好，半夜起来要上厕所，于是他叫醒了弟弟。弟弟帮着他进了厕所后，就回宿舍躺下了。由于太劳累，弟弟闭上眼就睡着了。结果他在厕所里等了整整两个小时，才被查夜的老师发现。慢慢长大了的两兄弟也有了烦恼和争执，有一天弟弟终于提出要离开他，因为弟弟要和很多正常人一样需要过自己的生活。为此，他很伤心，不知如何是好。

A similar misfortune befell a girl, too. One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness disappeared. So her father went out looking for her mother, leaving her alone at home. She tried to prepare meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in a fire which took her hands away.

无独有偶，另一个女孩也有着同样的遭遇。因为妈妈长期患有精神病，在一天晚上无故出走，爸爸去找妈妈了，家中便只留下她一人。她决定做好饭菜

等爸爸妈妈回来吃，却不小心将灶台上的煤油灯打翻，结果双手便被大火夺走了。

Though her elder sister who was studying in another city, showed her willingness to take care of her, she was determined to be completely independent. At school, she always studied hard. Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. Once she wrote the following in her composition: "I am lucky. Though I lost my arms, I still have legs; I am lucky. Though my wings are broken, my heart can still fly."

虽然在外地读书的姐姐愿意照顾她，可倔强的她一定要自己照顾自己。在学校，她不但读书认真，更重要的是她学会了生活自理。她曾在一篇作文里写道：我幸福，虽然断了双手，但我还拥有一双脚；我幸福，虽然翅膀断了，但心也要飞翔……

One day, the boy and the girl were both invited to appear on a television interview program. The boy told the TV host about his uncertain future at being left on his own, whereas the girl was full of enthusiasm for her life. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote: My younger brother's arms are my arms；while the girl wrote: Broken wings, flying heart.

有一天，他们被一家电视台邀请到了演播室。面对主持人，男孩表现出了对前途的迷茫，而女孩则对生活充满了热情。主持人要求他们分别在一张白纸上写一句话。他们分别用脚趾头夹起了笔，男孩写的是：“弟弟的手便是我的手。”女孩却写下了：“翅膀断了，心也要飞翔。”

They had both endured the same ordeal, but their different attitudes determined the nature of their lives. It is true that life is unpredictable. Disasters can strike at any time. How you handle misfortune when confronted with it, is the true test of your character. If you choose only to complain and escape from the ordeal, it will always follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

他们俩都经受了同样的苦难，但不同的人生态度却决定了其生活的本质。是的，人生多变幻，苦难总是在不知不觉中骤然降临。如何应对苦难，是对你的性格的真正考验。面对苦难，如果选择抱怨与逃避，苦难就永远如影随形；但如果选择坚强，苦难便会化作甘泉，滋润美好的希望。

亲爱的,你才是我的幸福

She was dancing. My crippled grandmother was dancing. I stood in the living room doorway absolutely stunned. I glanced at the kitchen table and sure enough-right under a small, framed drawing on the wall-was a freshly baked peach pie.

她在跳舞。我那身有残疾的祖母居然在跳舞。我站在客厅的门口，被彻底

惊呆了。我扫了一眼厨房的餐桌，果不其然，在餐桌上——墙上那幅小小的镶框画像的正下方——有一块新鲜出炉的烤蜜桃派。

I heard her sing when I opened the door but did not want to interrupt the beautiful song by yelling I had arrived, so I just tiptoed to the living room. I looked at how her still-lean body bent beautifully, her arms greeting the sunlight that was pouring through the window. And her legs… Those legs that had stiffly walked, aided with a cane, insensible shoes as long as I could remember. Now she was wearing beautiful dancing shoes and her legs obeyed her perfectly. No limping. No stiffness. Just beautiful, fluid motion. She was the pet of the dancing world. And then she’d had her accident and it was all over. I had read that in an old newspaper clipping.

当我推门进屋的时候，我听到了她在唱歌，但我不想大喊自己回来了，不想打断那美妙的歌声，于是我踮着脚尖走到客厅。我看着她那依然消瘦的身体优雅地弯下，她的手臂迎向从窗口倾泻而入的阳光。而她的腿……自我能记事以来，她总是拄着拐杖，穿着便鞋，走起路来腿脚僵硬。可现在，她正穿着美丽的舞鞋，而她的双腿完全听从着她的支配。不再蹒跚，不再僵硬。只有优美、流畅的动作。她曾是舞蹈界的宠儿。可是后来她遭遇了一场意外，舞蹈生涯因此而结束。我是从一张老旧的剪报中读到这个的。

She turned around in a slow pirouette and saw me standing in the doorway. Her song ended, and her beautiful movements with it, so abruptly that it felt like being shaken awake from a beautiful dream. The sudden silence rang in my ears. Grandma looked so much like a kid caught with her hand in a cookie jar that I couldn’t help myself, and a slightly nervous laughter escaped. Grandma sighed and turned towards the kitchen. I followed her, not believing my eyes. She was walking with no difficulties in her beautiful shoes. We sat down by the table and cut ourselves big pieces of her delicious peach pie.

她缓缓地转身做了一个足尖旋转，见到我站在门口。她的歌声嘎然而止，还有她那优美的动作，一切停止得如此突然，感觉像是从一场美梦中被人摇醒了。突如其来的寂静冲击着我的耳朵。祖母看起来很像是一个伸手从饼干罐里偷吃却被抓了个正着的小孩，我不禁发出了一阵略带一丝紧张的大笑。祖母叹了口气，转身走向厨房。我跟在她身后，还是不敢相信自己的眼睛。她穿着那双美丽的舞鞋，行走自如。我们坐在了桌边，从她那美味的蜜桃派中切出了大大的几块，俩人一起吃。

“So…” I blurted, “How did your leg heal?”

“那么……”我脱口而出道，“你的腿是怎么好了的？”

“To tell you the truth—my legs have been well all my life,” she said.

“跟你说实话吧——我的腿一直都挺好的，”她说。

“But I don’t understand!” I said, “Your dancing career… I mean… You pretended all these years?

“可是我不明白！”我说，“你的舞蹈事业……我是说……难道这些年来你一直在假装？”

“Very much so,” Grandmother closed her eyes and savored the peach pie, “And for a very good reason.”

“的确如此，”祖母闭上眼睛，品尝着蜜桃派，“而且是因为一个非常好的理由。”

“What reason?”

“什么理由？”

“Your grandfather.”

“你的祖父。”

“You mean he told you not to dance?”

“你是说，他让你不要再跳舞了？”

“No, this was my choice. I am sure I would have lost him if I had continued dancing. I weighed fame and love against each other and love won.”

“不，这是我自己的选择。我确信如果我再继续跳舞的话，我就会失去他了。我权衡名利和爱情孰轻孰重之后，选择了爱情。”

She thought for a wh ile and then continued. “We were talking about engagement when your grandfather had to go to war. It was the most horrible day of my life when he left. I was so afraid of losing him, the only way I could stay sane was to dance. I put all my energy and time into practicing—and I became very good. Critics praised me, the public loved me, but all I could feel was the ache in my heart, not knowing whether the love of my life would ever return. Then I went home and read and re-read his letters until I fell asleep. He always ended his letters with ‘You are my Joy. I love you with my life’ and after that he wrote his name. And then one day a letter came. There were only three sentences: ‘I have lost my leg. I am no longer a whole man and now give you back your freedom. It is best you forget about me.’”

她想了一下，然后接着说道：“当你祖父不得不去从军参战的时候，我们已经到了谈婚论嫁的阶段了。他离开的那段日子是我一生中度过的最可怕的时期。我很害怕会失去他，能让我不至于疯掉的唯一方法就是跳舞。我把我所有的精力和时间都投入到了练习之中，于是我成为了很棒的舞者。评论家对我好评连连，公众对我钟情有嘉，可我唯一能感觉到的却是我心中的痛，因为不知道我一生的挚爱是否能平安归来。然后我回到家里，一遍又一遍地读着他的来信，直到睡去。他总是在信的结尾写着：‘你才是我的幸福。爱你一生。’然后才是他的签名。但有一天我又收到了他的来信。信中只有三句话：‘我失去了一条腿。我不再是一个完整的人了，所以现在我将自由归还给你。你最好还是把我忘掉吧。’”

“I made my decision there and then. I took my leave, and traveled away from the city. When I returned I had bought myself a cane and wrapped my leg tightly

with bandages. I told everyone I had been in a car crash and that my leg would never completely heal again. My dancing days were over. No one suspected the story—I had learned to limp convincingly before I returned home. And I made sure the first person to hear of my accident was a reporter I knew well. Then I traveled to the hospital. They had pushed your grandfather outside in his wheelchair. There was a cane on the ground by his wheelchair. I took a deep breath, leaned on my cane and limped to him. ”

“于是我立刻做出了决定。我向众人告别，离开了这个城市。当我再度归来的时候，我为自己买了一副拐杖，并用绷带把我的腿包得紧紧的。我告诉每一个人，说我遭遇了一场车祸，我的腿再也不可能完全复原了。我的舞蹈生涯就此结束了。没有人怀疑这个故事——我在回家之前已经学会如何惟妙惟肖地跛行。我确保第一个听说我出车祸的是一位我熟知的记者。接着我来到了你祖父所在的医院。他们用轮椅把他推了出来。在他轮椅旁边的地上有一副拐杖。我深深吸了一口气，靠在我的拐杖上，一瘸一拐地向他走去。”

By now I had forgotten about the pie and listened to grandma, mesmerized. “What happened then?” I hurried her when she took her time eating some pie.

此刻，我已经忘记了那块蜜桃派，入迷地听着祖母说话。“然后发生了什么事情呢？”当她停下来吃了几口派时，我追问道。

“I told him he was not the only one who had lost a leg, even if mine was still at tached to me. I showed him newspaper clippings of my accident. ‘So if you think I’m going to let you feel sorry for yourself for the rest of your life, think again. There is a whole life waiting for us out there! I don’t intend to be sorry for myself. But I have enough on my plate as it is, so you’d better snap out of it too. And I am not going to carry you-you are going to walk yourself.’” Grandma giggled, a surprisingly girlish sound coming from an old lady with white hair.

“我告诉他，他并不是唯一失去了一条腿的人，尽管我的腿没给截掉。我给他看了关于我发生车祸的剪报。‘所以，如果你觉得我会让你在余生自怨自艾，想都别想。在外面还有全新的生活在等待着我们！我不打算为此而顾影自怜。而眼下我要做的事情已经够多的了，所以你最好也赶紧给我振作起来。而且你可别想我会背你——你要自己向前走。’”祖母咯咯地笑着，这位满头银发的老妇人令人吃惊地发出了少女般的笑声。

“I limped a few steps toward him and showed him what I’d taken out of my pocket. ‘Now show me you are still a man,’ I said, ‘I won’t ask again.’ He bent to take his cane from the ground and struggled out of that wheelchair. I could see he had not done it before, because he almost fell on his face, having only one leg. But I was not going to help. And so he managed it on his own and walked to me and never sat in a wheelchair again in his life.”

“我一瘸一拐地走开了几步，然后让他看我从口袋里掏出的一样东西。‘现在让我看看，你还是个男子汉。我可不会说第二次。’他弯下腰从地上拿起他

的拐杖，挣扎着从那副轮椅中站出来。可以看得出他之前从未这样做过，现在只有一条腿的他差点扑倒在地。但我没打算帮他。接着他设法自己站稳了，向我走来，而且在他的后半生里再也没有坐回到轮椅上。”

“What did you show him?” I had to know. Grandma looked at me and grinned. “Two engagement rings, of course. I had bought them the day after he left for the war and I was not going to waste them on any other man.”

“你给他看了什么东西呢？”我一定要知道。祖母看着我咧嘴而笑，说道：“当然是一对订婚戒指了。在他从军参战的第二天我就买了这对戒指，我可不想把戒指浪费在任何其他男人身上。”

I looked at the drawing on the kitchen wall, sketched by my grandfather’s hand so many years before. The picture became distorted as tears filled my eyes. “You are my Joy. I love you with my life.” I murmured quietl y. The young woman in the drawing sat on her park bench and with twinkling eyes smiled broadly at me, an engagement ring carefully drawn on her finger.

我看着厨房墙壁上的那幅画像,那是多年前我祖父亲手绘就的。我眼中满含泪水,眼前的画像变得模糊起来。“你才是我的幸福。爱你一生。”我轻声低语道。画像中的年轻女人坐在公园长椅上,眼神清亮,笑容可掬地看着我,她的手指上被精心地画有一枚订婚戒指。