不可不读的优美的英语散文魔法信

The Magic Letter 魔法信 By Roger Dean Kiser 何勇刚 译 三条辣椒 Once again, I had run away and really did not know why. I walked out the gate to go to school and then kept walking, and walking, and walking. I had just turned eleven years old the week before. It was almost dark; I was tired, scared, cold, and all alone. I had not eaten all day and was afraid to turn myself into the police. I knew I would receive another beating once I returned to the Children’s Home Society in Jacksonville, Florida. There was nothing for me to do, except keep on walking. As darkness fell, I made my way over to the city park located on Park Street. I entered the darkened area and sat down on one of the wooden benches hoping to avoid the police cars. It was cold and I began to 1)shiver uncontrollably. All was quiet except for the passing cars in the distance. “Well, hello young man.” A voice came from behind me. I jumped, almost falling off the park bench. My heart was beating ninety miles per hour, and I could feel it 2)thumping in the side of my neck. I gasped and I could hardly catch my breath. I looked up and saw a woman standing behind me in the shadows. “You look cold,” she said. “I’m cold. I’m real, real cold.” I continued to shiver. “Here wrap this around you.” I watched as she took off her 3)shawl and 4)wrapped it around my shoulders. “But ain’t you gonna be cold now?” “I’ll be OK.” “Is there anything else you need?” she questioned. “I sure could use some food.” “Follow me,” she said. I walked with her about twenty feet, then she stopped under one of the park 5)streetlights. She held out her hand and said, “Here, you take this letter and give it to the store owner.” I looked at her 6)outstretched arm but saw nothing in her hand. “There’s nothing in your hand,” I told her. “Roger, reach out and take the letter from my hand,” she replied. Slowly I reached out, acting as though I was taking something from her hand. “Now close your thumb and finger and hold the paper tightly,” she instructed. I closed my thumb and finger as though I were grasping the letter. “Take it to any store owner.” “What do I say to them?” “Nothing,” she replied. “But what store do I go to?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, as she smiled. I turned and began walking toward Five Points. Several blocks down the road, I came to a store with a woman sitting behind a counter. I opened the door, walked in, and stopped directly in front of her. “Can I help you?” asked the woman. I was 7)hesitant to talk and had no idea what I should say. Very slowly I held out my hand toward her. I watched her face to see if she might think I was crazy or something. “Is that for me?” she asked. “Yes Ma’am.” I looked down at the floor. She reached out and as her hand touched mine, I opened my tightly closed fingers and stood there waiting. She pulled back, smiled, and looked down at her hands. She immediately turned and walked to the back of the store. I began to inch toward the front door for fear she might be calling the police. Just as I made it to the front door, I stopped as I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw the woman holding a paper plate. “Roger, here is something for you to eat.” “How did you know my name?” I asked her. “It was on the paper.” “But there wasn’t no paper. I didn’t see no paper,” I told her. She smiled and 8)motioned for me to eat by 9)twirling her finger in front of her mouth. Within two or three minutes, I had downed the entire plate of food and several coca colas. “Are you full?” she asked. “Yes Ma’am.” “Then it’s time for you to go.” I turned to leave when I felt her hand on my shoulder. “Here, your paper. You almost forgot your letter,” she said, holding out her hand. Again seeing nothing, I held out my hand and closed my thumb and finger as though I were taking something from her. Tightly grasping nothing more than air, I walked out into the street and headed back to the park. When I arrived, the old woman was sitting on the park bench. “Did you eat?” she asked. “Yes Ma’am, and I had two coca colas too.” “Good.” “How do you do that magic?” I asked her. “It’s not magic.” “But how does everyone know my name?” “It is written in the letter.” “Can I have the letter so I can be magic too?” I asked. She reached out, took my hand, and opened my tightly closed fingers. Whatever was being held between my fingers, she took and placed into her 10)apron pocket. “Would you help someone if they were hungry?” she asked me. “Yes Ma’am.” “Would you help someone if they were hurt, cold or scared?” “Yes Ma’am. I would be their friend.” “Roger, you are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the magic letter,” she responded. She stood up, kissed me on the forehead, removed the shawl from my shoulders, and began walking down the sidewalk. I watched as she disappeared into the darkness. 我又一次逃走了，却并不知道为什么自己会这样做。我走出儿童之家的大门，向学校走去。可我一直不停地走啊走。上周我才刚满11岁。天差不多黑了，我疲惫不堪、胆战心惊、浑身发冷，而且独自一人。我一整天都没有吃东西，又不想到警察局去。我知道一旦回到佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔市的儿童之家协会，还会再挨一顿打。我没什么事可做，只有不停地走。 夜幕降临，我走向位于公园街的城市公园。我走进一块漆黑的区域，在一张木头长凳上坐下来，想避开警车。天气很冷，我不由自主地颤抖起来。除了远处路过的汽车声外，四周一片寂静。 “嗨，你好啊，年轻人。” 一个声音从我身后传来。 我吓了一跳，差点从公园长凳上掉下来。我的心砰砰地急跳着，我甚至能感觉它在脖子一侧砰砰地跳。我呼吸急促，差点喘不过气来。抬起头，我看见一个女人站在我身后的影子里。 “你看上去很冷，”她说。 “我很冷，我真的，真的很冷。” 我继续颤抖着说。 “把这个围上吧。” 只见她脱去披肩围在我肩上。 “不过，你是不是还觉得冷？” “我会好起来的。” “你还需要其它的东西吗？” 她问道。 “我肯定要吃点东西。” “跟我来吧，”她说。 我跟着她走了大约20英尺，然后，她在一个公园街灯下停了下来。 她伸出手，说道：“这里有封信，你把这封信交给店主。” 我看看她伸出的手，但她手里什么都没有。“你手里什么都没有啊，”我告诉她。 “罗杰，伸出手，把我手里这封信拿走，”她回答说。 我慢慢地伸出手，做出好像从她手里拿走什么东西的样子。 “现在，合上你的手指，紧紧地握住这封信，”她教我说。 我合上手指，好像抓住那封信一样。 “随便把它交给哪家店主。” “我该对他们说什么？” “什么都不用说，”她回答说。 “那我该去哪家店呢？” “随便哪家，”她微笑着说。 我转过身，开始向“五分店”走去，我沿路走过几个街区，来到一家商店，柜台后面坐着一个女人。 我打开门，走了进去，在她面前停了下来。 “你要什么？”这位女士问。 我欲言又止，不知道该说什么。我慢腾腾地朝她伸出手。我仔细瞧她的脸色，看她是否会以为我是疯子或者有什么毛病。 “那是给我的吗？”她问道。 “是的，夫人。”我低头看着地板。 她伸出手来，在她的手要接触到我的手时，我打开紧握的拳头，站在那里静静地等待。她微笑着抽回手去，看着她手里的东西。 她立即转身，走进商店后面。我开始向前门挪步，担心她可能正在给警察打电话。正当我要到前门的时候，我停了下来，因为我听见有人在叫我的名字。转过身来，我看见那位夫人托着一个纸盘。 “罗杰，这是给你吃的。” “您怎么会知道我的名字？”我问她。 “名字写在纸上啊。” “但并没有纸啊，我没有看见纸，”我告诉她。 她笑了，做出在嘴边转着手指的姿势，示意我赶紧吃。在两三分钟之内，我吞下了整盘食物和几杯可口可乐。 “吃饱了吗？”她问我。 “是的，夫人。” “那你该走了。” 我转身要离开时，感觉她的手放在我肩上。 “给，你的信，你差点忘了你的信，”她说着，伸出手来。 我还是什么都没看见。我伸出手，再握紧手指，好像从她手里拿回什么东西似的。我手里紧紧攥着空气，走出了商店，沿着街道走回公园。我到达那里时，那位老妇人还坐在公园的长凳上。“你吃过东西了吗？”她问我。 “是的，夫人，我还喝了两杯可口可乐呢。” “很好。” “您施了什么魔法？”我问她。 “这不是魔法。” “但是，为什么大家会知道我的名字？” “名字写在信里。” “我能留着这封信保住魔法吗？” 我问道。 她抓住我的手，打开我攥得紧紧的手指。我夹在手指间的东西，她都收了回去，放进了围裙口袋。“别人饥饿时你会帮他们吗？”她问我。 “会的，夫人。” “别人受伤、寒冷或者害怕的时候，你会帮助他们吗？” “会，夫人。我会成为他们的朋友。” “罗杰，你是一个十分幸运的小男孩。你再也不需要魔法信了。”她回答说。 她站起来，吻了吻我的额头，取下我肩上的披肩，沿着人行道走去。我看着她消失在黑暗里。 1) shiver [] v. 颤抖 2) thump [] v. 砰然的响 3) shawl [] n. 披肩, 围巾 4) wrap [] v. 缠绕，裹 5) streetlight [] n. 街灯 6) outstretch [] v. 伸出, 伸展 7) hesitant [] adj. 犹豫的, 吞吞吐吐的 8) motion [] v. 打手势，示意 9) twirl [] v. 转动, 旋转 10) apron [] n. 围裙