I’ve learned that sometimes all a person need is a hand to hold and a heart to understand .我明白了有时一个人所需要的仅仅是一只可以紧握的手和一颗能够互相理解的心。 I’ve learned that the Lord didn’t do it all in one day .What makes me think I can?我明白了上帝并不是一天就创造了世界。我又何必认定自己能在一天之内做好所有的事情呢？ I’ve learned that love ,not time ,heals all wounds .我明白了能够治愈一切创伤的是爱，而不是时间。 I’ve learned that every one you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.我明白了遇到的每一个人都值得用微笑去面对。 I’ve learned that there’s nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks .我明白了没有比跟孩子睡在一起并感觉他们的呼吸句在脸旁更为甜美的事情了。 I’ve learned that on one is perfect until you fall in love with him or her .我明白了只有你爱的人才可称为完美。 I’ve learned that opportunities are never lost ;someone will take the ones you miss .我明白了机会从来不会自己消失，你错过的机会将被别人抓住。 I’ve learned that when you harbor bitterness ,happiness will dock elsewhere .我明白了当你心怀悲苦时，幸福就会停靠在别的港湾。 I’ve learned that I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away .我明白了自己真该在母亲去世前再告诉她一次我爱她。 I’ve learned that one should keep his words both soft and tender ,because tomorrow he may have to eat them .我明白了一个人应该小心翼翼地遵守自己的诺言，因为也许第二天他就要自食其言了。 I’ve learned that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks .我明白了微笑是一种廉价的美容方式。 I’ve learned that I can’t choose how I feel ,but I can choose what I do about it .我明白了，我不能选择自己有河感受，但能选择如何对待它。 I’ve learned that everyone wants to stand on top of the mountain ,but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it .我明白了每个人都想站在山顶上，但所有的幸福与成长都发生在攀登的过程中。
72
We are on a journey
我们在旅途中
Wherever you are, and whoever you may be, there is one thing in which you and I are just alike at this moment, and in all the moments of our existence. We are not at rest, we are on a journey. Our life is a movement, a tendency, a steady, and ceaseless progress towards an unseen goal.不论你处在什么地方，也不论你是什么人，不管是在此时此刻，还是在我们生命中的任何一个瞬间，有一件事对你我来说是恰巧相同的，我们不是在休息，我们是在一次旅途中，我们的生活是一种运动，一种趋势，是向一个看不见的目标稳定而不停地进步。 We are gaining something, or losing something, everyday. Even when our position and our character seem to remain precisely the same, but in fact, they are changing. For the mere advance of time is a change. It is not the same thing to have a bare field in January and in July. The season makes the difference. The limitations that are childlike in the child, but childish in the man.每一天，我们都会赢得某些东西，或者会失去某些东西。甚至当我们的位置和我们的性格看起来跟以前完全相似时，它们事实上仍然在变化着。因为仅仅是时间的前进就是一种变化。对于一块荒地来说，在1月和7月是不同的，季节会制造差异。能力上的缺陷对于孩子来说是一种可爱的品质，但对于大人来说就是一种幼稚的表现。 Everything that we do is a step in one direction or another. Even the failure to do something is in itself a deed. it sets us forward or backward. the action of the negative pole of a magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole. To decline is to accept--the other alternative.我们做的每一件事都是朝着一个或另一个方向前进一步。甚至 没有做任何事情 这件事本身也是一种行为，它让我们前进或后退，一根刺针阴极的作用和阳极的作用都是一样真实的，拒绝也是一种接受--这些都是二中择一的选择。 Are you nearer to your port today than you were yesterday? yes, you must be a little nearer to some port or other since your ship was first launched upon the sea of life, you have never been still for a single moment, for the sea is too deep, you could not find an anchorage, so there can be no pause until you come into port.你今天比昨天更接近你的港口了吗？是的--你必须接近某一个港口或者其他港口。自从你第一次被抛人生活之海，你的船连一分钟都没有静止过，海是如此之深，你也不可能找到一个抛锚的地方，于是你不可能停下来，直道你到达自己的港口。
73
Do something for yourself
做你自己
As a little boy, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather's farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stonewalls, the house and barn provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to parlors neat as a pin that seemed to whisper, "Not to be touched!"
I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first visit to the farm, I'd wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stonewalls surrounding the property. My parents would never approve. The walls were old; some stones were missing, others loose and crumbling. Still, my yearning to scramble across those walls grew so strong. One spring afternoon, I summoned all my courage and entered the living room, where the adults had gathered after dinner.
I, uh, I want to climb the stonewalls, I said hesitantly. Everyone looked up. "Can I climb the stonewalls?" Instantly a chorus went up from the women in the room. "Heavens, no!" they cried in dismay. "You'll hurt yourself!" I wasn't too disappointed; the response was just as I'd expected. But before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather' s booming voice. "Hold on just a minute," I heard him say, "Let the boy climb the stonewalls. He has to learn to do things for himself."
Scoot, he said to me with a wink, "and come and see me when you get back." For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventure. I'll never forget what he said. "Fred," he said, grinning, "you made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there's only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are."
Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit, "There's only one person in this whole world like you, and people can like you exactly as you are."
A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her, She did not know she was going to make it and want to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.有一个女孩向她父亲抱怨她的生活，她觉得凡事都很艰难，不知该怎样挺过去，想放弃。她厌倦了不断的抗争和奋斗，似乎一个问题刚刚解决，另一个问题马上呈现。 Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen, He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire .Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He led them sit and boil, without saying a word.她的父亲是个厨师，他把她带到了厨房。他在三个壶里分别装满了水，然后放到高温的火上烧。很快，壶里的水被煮开了。他往第一个壶里放了些胡萝卜，往第二个壶里放了几个鸡蛋，在最后一个壶里放了些磨碎的咖啡豆，然后，一句话也没说，他由着水把它们煮沸。 The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners, He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her he asked," Darling, what do you see?"女儿咂巴着牙齿发出声响，不耐烦地等着，对父亲的行为感到很纳闷。大约二十分钟后，父亲关掉了火炉，把胡萝卜捞出来，放到一个碗里。又把鸡蛋拣出来放进另一个碗里，接着把咖啡用勺子舀出来倒进一个杯子里，然后转过头来，对她说，“亲爱的，你看到的是什么？” Carrots, eggs, and coffee. she replied.“胡萝卜、鸡蛋和咖啡。”她答道。 He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots, she did and noted that they were soft . Then he asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee .She smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.父亲把她带近了这些东西，要她去摸胡萝卜，她摸了之后，注意到，它们变柔软了。然后，他又要她去拿一个鸡蛋并把它敲破，在把壳剥掉之后，她观察了这个煮熟的鸡蛋。最后，父亲要她饮一口咖啡。尝着芳香四溢的咖啡，她微笑起来。 What does it mean, Father? she humbly asked.“这是什么意思，父亲？”她谦逊地问道。 He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had being fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water. its inside became hardened ,The ground coffee beans were unique ,however ,After they were in the boiling water ,they had changed the water .父亲解释说，这三样东西面临着同样的逆境——煮沸的水。但它们的反应却各不相同。胡萝卜本是硬的，坚固而且强度大，但受到煮沸的水的影响后，它变得柔软而脆弱。鸡蛋本来易碎，薄薄的外壳保护着内部的液体。但是在经历过煮沸的水以后，它的内部却变得坚硬。不过，最独特的却是磨碎的咖啡豆，当它们被放入煮沸的水之后，它们却改变了水。 Which are you? he asked his daughter.“哪一个是你呢？”他问女儿。 When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?当逆境找上你时，你该如何应对呢？你是胡萝卜、鸡蛋，还是咖啡豆？
75
With tolerance
宽容之心
It is curious that our own offenses should seem so much less heinous than that of others. I suppose the reason is that we know all the circumstances that have occasioned them and so manage to excuse in ourselves what we cannot excuse in others. We turn our attention away from our own defects, and when we are forced by untoward events to consider them, find it easy to condone them. For all I know we are right to do this; they are part of us and we must accept the good and bad in ourselves together.让人奇怪的是，和别人的过错比起来，我们自身的过错往往不是那样的可恶。我想，其原因应该是我们知晓一切导致自己犯错的情况，因此能够设法谅解自己的错误，而别人的错误却不能谅解。我们对自己的缺点不甚关注，即便是深陷困境而不得不正视它们的时候，我们也会很容易就宽恕自己。据我所知，我们这样做是正确的。缺点是我们自身的一部分，我们必须接纳自己的好和坏。 But when we come to judge others, it is not by ourselves as we really are that we judge hem, but by an image that we have formed of ourselves from which we have left out everything that offends our vanity or would discredit us in the eyes of the world. To take a trivial stance: how scornful we are when we catch someone out telling a lie; but who can say that he has ever told not one, but a hundred?但是当我们评判别人的时候，情况就不同了。我们不是通过真实的自我来评判别人，而是用一种自我形象来评判，这种自我形象完全摒弃了在任何世人眼中会伤害到自己的虚荣或者体面的东西。举一个小例子来说：当觉察到别人说谎时，我们是多么地蔑视他啊！但是，谁能够说自从未说过谎？可能还不止一百次呢。 There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of nobility and baseness. Some have more strength of character, or more opportunity, and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same. For my part, I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind, the world would consider me a monster of depravity. The knowledge that these reveries are common to all men should inspire one with tolerance to oneself as well as to others. It is well also if they enable us to look upon our fellows, even the most eminent and respectable, with humor, and if they lead us to take ourselves not too seriously.人和人之间没什么大的差别。他们皆是伟大与渺小，善良与邪恶，高尚与低俗的混合体。有的人性格比较坚毅，机会也比较多，因而这个或那个方面，能够更自由地发挥自己的禀赋，但是人类的潜能却都是相同的。至于我自己，我认为自己并不比大多数人更好或者更差，但是我知道，假如我记下我生命中每一次举动和每一个掠过我脑海的想法的话，世界就会将我视为一个邪恶的怪物。每个人都会有这样的怪念头，这样的认识应当能够启发我们宽容自己，也宽容他人。同时，假如因此我们得以用幽默的态度看待他人，即使是天下最优秀最令人尊敬的人，而且假如我们也因此不把自己看得过于重要，那是很有裨益的。
76
Make the opportunity
创造机会
Make the opportunity创造机会 The lack of opportunity is ever the excuse of a weak, vacillating mind.意志脆弱优柔寡断的人，总是以缺乏机会作为借口。 Opportunities!机会！ Every life is full of them.在每个人的生活当中，无处不在。 Every lesson in school or college is an opportunity.学校里的每一节课都是一次机会。 Every examination is a chance in life.每一场考试都是人生的契机。 Every business transaction is an opportunity, an opportunity to be polite, an opportunity to be manly, an opportunity to be honest, an opportunity to make friends.每一次商务往来都是一次机会--一次礼貌待人的机会，一次果敢行事的机会，一次诚实守信的机会，一次广交朋友的机会。 Every proof of confidence in you is a great opportunity.每一份对你的信任，对你都是一次莫大的机会。 Every responsibility thrust upon your strength and your honor is priceless.基于你的才干和声望而寄予你的每一份责任，都是无价的。 Existence is the privilege of effort, and when that privilege is met like a man, opportunities to succeed along the line of your aptitude will come faster than you can use them.生存是奋斗赋予的特权，而当你如男子汉一般邂逅那份殊荣时，一个个发挥你聪明才智、助你获取成功的机会便会接踵而至，令你应接不暇。 Young men and women, why do you stand here all the day idle?年轻人啊，为何你们整日裹足不前而虚掷光阴？ Was the land all occupied before you were born?难道在你们出生之前，每一寸土地都已被他人所占据？ Has the earth ceased to yield its increase?难道地球已不再繁衍生息？ Are the seats all taken?难道所有的席位都已另有归属？ The positions all filled?所有的职位都已人满为患？ The chances all gone?所有的机会都一去不返？ Are the resources of your country fully developed?难道你国内的资源都已开发殆尽？ Are the secrets of nature all mastered?难道大自然的奥秘都已了如指掌？ Is there no way in which you can utilize these passing moments to improve yourself or benefit another?难道你无法抓住这些转瞬即逝的时机来改善自我或者造福他人？ Don't wait for your opportunity.切莫株守机会。 Make it-make it as Napoleon made his in a hundred "impossible" situations.去创造它，正如拿破仑在无数次"绝"境中创造自己逢生的机会一样。 Make it, as all leaders of men, in war and in peace have, made their chances of success.去创造它，正如战争或者和平年代的领袖们创造他们取得胜利的机会那样。 Make it, as every man must, who would accomplish anything worth the effort.去创造它，人人必须如此，任何人都能获得应有的回报。 Golden opportunities are nothing to laziness, but industry makes the commonest chances golden.对于懒惰来讲，天赐良机也会化为乌有；对于勤奋而言，即使是微不足道的机会，也会变得金光闪闪!
77
Words from the heart
最后的表白
Most people need to hear those "three little words" I love you. Once in a while, they hear them just in time.
大多数人需要听到那“三个小字”——我爱你。有时他们就会在最需要的时候听到。
I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospice ward, where I worked as a volunteer. Her husband, Bill, stood nervously nearby as she was transferred from the gurney to the hospital bed. Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, she was alert and cheerful. We got her settled in. I finished marking her name on all the hospital supplies she would be using, then asked if she needed anything.
Oh, yes, she said, "would you please show me how to use the TV? I enjoy the soaps so much and I don't want to get behind on what's happening." Connie was a romantic. She loved soap operas, romance novels and movies with a good love story. As we became acquainted, she confided how frustrating it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her "a silly woman."
Oh, I know Bill loves me, she said, "but he has never been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me." She sighed and looked out the window at the trees in the courtyard. "I'd give anything if he'd say 'I love you,' but it's just not in his nature."
Bill visited Connie every day. In the beginning, he sat next to the bed while she watched the soaps. Later, when she began sleeping more, he paced up and down the hallway outside her room. Soon, when she no longer watched television and had fewer waking moments, I began spending more of my volunteer time with Bill.
He talked about having worked as a carpenter and how he liked to go fishing. He and Connie had no children, but they'd been enjoying retirement by traveling, until Connie got sick. Bill could not express his feelings about the fact that his wife was dying.
One day, over coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get sentimental1 cards and love letters.
Do you tell Connie you love her? I asked (knowing his answer), and he looked at me as if I was crazy.
“你跟康尼说你爱她吗？”我明知故问。他瞧着我，就好像我有神经病。
I don't have to, he said. "She knows I do!"
“我没有必要说，”他说道。“她知道我爱她！”
I'm sure she knows, I said, reaching over and touching his hands rough, carpenter's hands that were gripping the cup as if it were the only thing he had to hang onto "but she needs to hear it, Bill. She needs to hear what she has meant to you all these years. Please think about it."
We walked back to Connie's room. Bill disappeared inside, and I left to visit another patient. Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed. He was holding Connie's hand as she slept. The date was February 12.
Two days later I walked down the hospice ward at noon. There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor. I already knew from the head nurse that Connie had died at 11 A.M.
When Bill saw me, he allowed himself to come into my arms for a long time. His face was wet with tears and he was trembling. Finally, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.
比尔看见我后，让我拥抱了他许久。他满脸泪水，浑身颤抖。最后，他向后靠在墙上，深深地吸了一口气。
I have to say something, he said. "I have to say how good I feel about telling her." He stopped to blow his nose. "I thought a lot about what you said, and this morning I told her how much I loved her... and loved being married to her. You should have seen her smile!"
I went into the room to say my own goodbye to Connie. There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill. You know, the sentimental kind that says, "To my wonderful wife... I love you."
Six minutes to six, said the clock over the international booth in New York’s Grand Central Station. The tall young Army lieutenant lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 month, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had sustained him unfailingly.在纽约地铁中心总站，咨询处上方的时钟指向了5点54分。年轻高大的陆军中尉抬起黝黑的脸庞，眯着眼睛看上面的时间，一颗心激动得怦怦直跳，6分钟后，他就要见到那个女人了——在过去的13个月里一直占据着他心灵某个特殊位置的女人。虽然他们素未谋面，但她的信却一直是他的精神支柱。 Lieutenant Blandford remembered one day in particular, during the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of enemy’s planes. In one of his letters he had confessed to her that he often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle he had received her answer: “Of course you fear…all brave men do. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: ‘yeah, though I walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will hear no evil: for thou art with me.’…” He had remembered, and it had renewed his strength.布兰福德中尉记得那天，战斗艰苦的时刻，他的飞机被敌机重重包围。他曾在一封信里对她坦言，他常会感到畏惧。就在战斗打响的前几天，他收到了她的回信：“你当然会畏惧……勇士们都会那样，下次你在不自信时，我希望你能听到我为你朗诵的声音：‘啊，是的，尽管我要走过死亡之谷，但我将勇往直前，因为你与我同在。’”他记得，正是那封信使他重新振作。 Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six.此时，他就要听到她真实的声音了，还有4分钟就6点了。 A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only about 18, and Hollis Meynell had told him she was 30. “What of it?” he had answered. “I’m 32.” He was 29.一个女孩走近他，布兰福德中尉一惊。她戴着一朵花，但不是他们约好的那种红玫瑰。这个女孩只有18岁左右，而霍丽丝.梅内尔告诉过他，她已30岁。“有什么关系呢？”他还回信说，“我32岁”，其实他只有29岁 His mind went back to that book he had read in the training camp. Of Human Bondage it was; and throughout the book were notes in a woman’s handwriting. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man’s heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the book plate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written; she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.他又想到了在训练营时看过的一本书——《人性的枷锁》，书里有一个女人的批注。他难以相信，一个女人竟能如此透彻地读懂男人的心，书签上有她的名字：霍丽丝.梅内尔。于是他找来一本纽约市电话簿，查到了地址，给她写信，并收到了回信。因为执行任务，第二天他就坐船离开了，但他们仍保持通信。 For 13 months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed that he loved her and that she loved him.13个月里，她始终诚挚地给他回信，通常是他的信还未到，她的信就来了。因此，他深信，他们彼此深爱着。 But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained:” If you’re feeling for me has any reality, what I look like won’t matter. Suppose I’m beautiful. I’d always been haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I’m plain ( and you must admit that this is more likely), then I’d always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don’t ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decision.”然而，她拒绝送他照片，并解释说：“如果你是真心对我，我的外表并不重要。如果我长得很漂亮，我会认为，你是爱我的外表，那样会另我很反感。如果我长相平凡（你必须承认这个更有可能），就会担心，你和我通信，是因为内心孤独，无人倾诉。别向我要照片。你来纽约时就可以看到我了，可以在那时做出某些决定。” One minute to six…he put hard on a cigarette. Then Lieutenant Blandford’s heart leaped.还有1分钟就6点了……布兰福德猛抽了一口烟，心跳更加快了。 A young woman was coming towards him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls over her delicate ears. Her eyes were as blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive.一位年轻的女士向他走来，她身材苗条，金黄的卷发拢在小巧的耳后，双唇红润，下巴精致，眼睛深蓝动人。她穿着淡绿色的西装，浑身散发着青春的活力。 He started toward her, forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.他开始向她走去，根本没注意她是否戴着玫瑰花，他走近，看到她的嘴角浮起动人的微笑。 “Going my way, soldier?” she murmured. He made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.“问路吗，军人？”她轻轻地说。他又走近一步，接着，他看到了霍丽丝.梅内尔 She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick ankle feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.霍丽丝?梅内尔就站在这姑娘身后，一个40多岁的女人，灰白的头发塞在破旧的帽子下面，很胖，厚实的双脚穿着低跟鞋。 But she wore a red rose on her rumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly. Blandford felt as though he were being split into two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. He could see her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; her grey eyes had a warm twinkle.可是她那皱巴巴的外衣上别着一朵红玫瑰。绿衣女孩匆匆离去。布兰福德心碎了，他多想跟着那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望见这个女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激励他。她就站在那里，苍白丰满的面庞，温柔而理性，灰色的眼睛里闪着温和的光芒。 Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the worn copy of Human Bondage which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, a friendship that he had been and must ever be grateful…布兰福德没有犹豫，他紧抓着那本破旧的《人性的枷锁》，它是向她证明身份的依据。尽管这不会是爱情，但是一种珍贵的东西，是他曾经拥有并要感激的友情…… He squared his shoulders, saluted, and held the book out toward the woman, although even well while he spoke he fell the bitterness of disappointment. “I’m John Blandford, and you---you are Miss Meynell. May---may I take you to dinner?”尽管因深深的失望而感到痛苦，布兰福德仍摆正双肩，敬了个礼，然后把书递给那个女人：“我是约翰?布兰福德，您——您是梅内尔女士吧，我可以——可以请您吃饭吗？” The woman smiled. “I don’t know what this is all about, son,” she answered. “That young lady in the green suit, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you ask me to go out with you, I should tell you that she’s waiting for you in that restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test.”女人微笑着。“孩子，我不明白这是怎么回事，”她说道，“那位穿绿衣服的年轻小姐请求我戴上这朵玫瑰，她说如果你请我一块出去，就告诉你，她在对面的餐厅等你。她说这是一种考验。”
79
With one small gesture
不经意间的举动
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, he said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.当我还在上高一时，有一天，我看到我们班的一个孩子正步行回家。他叫凯尔。他似乎背着所有的书。我心想：“为什么有人在周五就把所有的书都带回家呢？他肯定是个书呆子。”我的周末计划得非常详细（先是派对，在第二天下午和我的朋友踢足球）。因此我耸了耸肩，走开了。正走着，我看到一帮孩子朝他跑去。他们追上他，把他所有的书都从怀里扔到地上并把他绊倒，结果他摔在污泥里，眼镜也被打飞了，我看到它落在离他10英尺远的草地上。他抬起头时，我看到他眼里极度悲伤的表情。因此，我慢步向他跑过去。在他爬着寻找眼镜时，我看到了他眼中的泪水。我把眼镜递给他，说道：“那些家伙都是些蠢蛋，他们真该遭到报应。” He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.他看了看我，说：“嗨，谢谢了！”笑容在他脸上展现。正是这样的笑显示出了真正的感激。我帮他捡起书，问他住在哪里。原来他住得离我很近。于是我就问他，怎么以前我从没有见过他呢，他说在来这所学校以前他上的是私立学校。 We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with my friends and me. He said yes. The more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Dim boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.我们一路聊着回家，我帮他拿着书。他原来竟是一位非常讨人喜欢的孩子，我问他是否周六想跟我及我的朋友一起踢足球。他答应了。对凯尔了解得越多，我越是喜欢他。我的朋友也都这么认为。到了周一早晨，凯尔又要背上那个巨大的书包了。我制止他，说：“傻孩子，你每天背这么一大堆书，想练就一身强壮的肌肉呀！”他只是笑，并把一半书都递给了我。 Over the next four years, Kyle and I became the best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.接下来的四年里，凯尔和我成为最好的朋友。到了高年级后，我们开始考虑上大学的事。凯尔决定去乔治敦，而我要去杜克。我知道我们永远都是朋友，距离决不会成为问题。 Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.凯尔是我们班致告别词的学生代表。我总是取笑他是一个书呆子。他必须为毕业准备一个演讲。我很庆幸不是我要站在那儿演讲。 Graduation day, I saw Kyle.. He looked great. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous.毕业日来临了——我看到了凯尔，他看起来帅极了。他长胖了些，戴着眼镜很好看。他的约会比我还要多，几乎所有的女孩都喜欢他。天哪，有时候我都有些嫉妒。 Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled."Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach.... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."今天就是这样。我能看出他对于演讲有些紧张。因此，我拍了拍他的后背，说：“嗨，大小伙子，你会很出色的！”他看了看我，带着那样的表情（真正出于感激的那种），笑了。“谢谢，”他说。开始演讲时，他清了清喉咙，开始说：“毕业的时候，你应该感谢那些帮助你度过最困难时期的人。你的父母、老师、兄弟姐妹、也许还有教练……但主要是你的朋友。我在这儿要告诉你们，做别人的朋友是你能给予他们的最好礼物。我要给你们讲一个故事。”我不敢置信地望着我的朋友，他讲的就是我们第一天相遇的故事。他本来打算要在那个周末自杀，他谈到自己如何把课桌收拾干净，把他所有的东西都带回家，这样就不用妈妈以后再收拾了。他直直地看着我，给了我一个笑容。“谢天谢地，我获救了。我的朋友阻止了我去做那不堪设想的事情。” I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.当这位帅气的、受欢迎的男孩告诉我们有关他的最脆弱的时刻时，我听到人群中都深吸了一口气。我看到他的爸爸妈妈都看着我，带着同样感激的微笑。直到那时我才意识到它的深刻。 Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.决不要低估你的行动的力量，一个简单的举止也许会改变人的一生，无论是好是坏。
80
An October Sunrise
十月的日出
I was up the next morning before the October sunrise, and away through the wild and the woodland. The rising of the sun was noble in the cold and warmth of it; peeping down the spread of light, be raised his shoulder heavily over the edge of gray mountain and wavering length of upland. Beneath his gaze the dew-fogs dipped and crept to the hollow places, then stole away in line and column, holding skirts and clinging subtly at the sheltering comers where rock hung over grass-land, while the brave lines of the hills came forth, one beyond other gliding.
The woods arose in folds, like drapery of awakened mountains, stately with a depth of awe, and memory of the tempests. Autumn's mellow hand was upon them, as they owned already, touched with gold and red and olive, and their joy towards the sun was less to a bridegroom than a father.
Yet before the floating impress of the woods could clear itself, suddenly the gladsome light leaped over hill and valley, casting amber, blue, and purple, and a tint of rich red rose, according to the scene they lit on, and the curtain flung around; yet all alike dispelling fear and the cloven hoof of darkness, all on the wings of hope advancing, and proclaiming, "God is here !" Then life and joy sprang reassured from every crouching hollow; every flower and bud and bird had a fluttering sense of them, and all the flashing of God's gaze merged into soft beneficence.
So, perhaps, shall break upon us that eternal morning, when crag and chasm shall be no more, neither hill and valley, nor great unvintaged ocean; when glory shall not scare happiness, neither happiness envy glory; but all things shall arise, and shine in the light of the Father's countenance, because itself is risen.