美文：即使永远到不了远方 也该有公平尝试的机会

复活节空蛋

(From dobhran.com)

(译 / 萨博)

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher,Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him . He would squirm in his seat, drool , and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

杰里米天生身体扭曲，反应迟钝。他12岁才读二年级，似乎没有学习的能力。他常惹多丽丝·米勒老师生气。他会在座位上扭来扭去，流着口水，还发出咕噜咕噜的声音。有些时候，他说出的话清晰而明确，就像他脑中的黑暗被一点光亮穿透了似的。然而，在大多数时候，他只会让老师十分头疼。

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

有一天，多丽丝给杰里米的父母打电话，公平的。你们看，他比那些小孩整整大了五岁。”

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke.

福里斯特太太捂着纸巾难过地哭起来，这时她的丈夫说话了。

Miss Miller,he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."

“米勒小姐，”他说，“这附近并没有那样的学校。如果非要让我们把杰里米从这儿带走，这会对他造成很大的打击。我们知道，他真的很喜欢在这里上学。”

Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness . But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?

他们走了以后，多丽丝坐了很久，盯着窗外的飞雪，那种寒冷似乎渗进了她的灵魂。她也想同情福里斯特一家，毕竟他们唯一的孩子患有绝症。但是把他留在班上也是不公平的，她还有另外18名年幼的学生要教，而杰里米总让她分心。况且，他也许永远也学不会读书写字，何必还要浪费时间去尝试呢？

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares.

在她反复思量现状时，一种负罪感涌遍了全身。她对自己说：我在此祈祷，上帝啊，请帮助我，让我对杰里米耐心一些吧。从那天 起，她尽量去忽略杰里米发出的怪声音和他空洞的眼神。

Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red.

后来有一天，杰里米拖着他那条跛腿一瘸一拐地走到她的桌子前，大声说：“米勒小姐，我爱你。”他的声音很大，全班人都听到了，别的学生都在偷笑，多丽丝的脸一下子红了。

She stammered , "Wh - why that's very nice, Jeremy. N - now please take your seat."

她结结巴巴地说“唔——哇，很好，杰里米，现——现在请回到你的座位上去吧。”

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter . Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth , she gave each of the children a large plastic egg.

春天来了，孩子们兴奋地谈论着即将到来的复活节，多丽丝跟他们讲耶稣的故事，然后发给每个孩子一个很大的塑料蛋壳，以强调复活节具有新生命冲脱出世的寓意。

Now, she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

“现在，”她对孩子们说，“请把它带回家，明天再带到学校来， 明天来的时候，里面要装上可以代表新生命的东西。听懂了吗？”

Yes, Miss Miller, the children responded enthusiastically - all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus's death and resurrection ? Did he understand the assignment?

“听懂了，米勒小姐。”孩子们兴高采烈地回应着——除了杰里米。他专心地听着，他的双眼片刻也没有离开老师的脸，他甚至没有发出平常的那种怪声音。他有没有听懂老师讲的耶稣之死和复活的故事呢？他明白作业要求吗？

Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them. That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up . She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse , and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

#p#分页标题#e#

也许她应该给他的父母打个电话，解释一下相关的要求。那天傍晚，多丽丝厨房里的洗碗槽堵了，她打电话让房东来疏通，等了一个小时他才来。然后她还要去杂货店买些东西，熨一件衣服，还要准备第二天的词汇测试题。所以，她把给杰里米的父母打电话的事情忘了个一干二净。

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs.

第二天早上，19个孩子都来上学了，他们有说有笑地将蛋放在米勒小姐桌上的大柳条篮子里。数学课后，到了打开蛋壳的时候了。

In the first egg, Doris found a flower.

多丽丝打开的第一个蛋里面是一朵花。

Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life, she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here."

“啊，是的，花儿当然是新生命的象征，”她说，“当植物从地里破土而出的时候，我们就知道春天来了。”

A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.

第一排的一位小姑娘挥动着她的手臂，“那是我的，米勒小姐。”她喊道。

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real.Doris held it up.

第二只蛋里面放的是一只塑料蝴蝶，看起来非常逼真，多丽丝将它举起来。

We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows in to a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too.

“我们都知道毛毛虫会蜕变成美丽的蝴蝶，没错，这也是新的生命。”

Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

小朱迪骄傲地笑起来：“米勒老师，那是我的。”

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life.

接下来的一只蛋里，多丽丝发现一块长有苔藓的石头。她解释说苔藓也同样是生命的象征。

Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed .

教室后排的比利大声说：“那是我爸爸帮我找到的。”说完眉开眼笑。

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty.

当多丽丝打开第四个蛋壳时，她的呼吸变得急促了——里面什么也没有。

Surely it must be Jeremy's, she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

这肯定是杰里米的了，她想。杰里米当然没听懂她的要求。要是自己没忘了给他的父母打电话交代该多好。多丽丝不想让杰里米难 堪，于是悄悄地将那个蛋壳放到一边，伸手去拿下一个。

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?"

突然，杰里米说话了：“米勒小姐，你不想说一说我的蛋吗？”

Flustered , Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty."

多丽丝觉得很狼狈，她答道：“但是杰里米，你的蛋里什么也没有啊！”

He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus's tomb was empty, too."

杰里米注视着老师的眼睛，平静地说：“是的，可是耶稣的墓里不也什么都没有吗？”

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?"

时间静止了，等多丽丝缓过神来，她问道：“你知道为什么耶稣的坟墓是空的吗？”

Oh, yes, Jeremy said. "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

“哦，我知道，”杰里米答道，“耶稣遇害后尸体被放入坟墓，后来上帝让他复活了。”

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the schoolyard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

课间休息的铃声响了，当孩子们兴奋地跑去操场玩耍的时候，多丽丝哭了，她内心的寒冰完全消融了。

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket , all of them empty.

三个月以后，杰里米死了。来殡仪馆吊唁的人们都惊奇地发现， 杰里米的棺材上面摆着19个蛋，每个蛋都是空的。