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圣诞快乐，卡莉 （美国）迈克尔·T·史密斯 陈荣生 译
（图片欣赏——张君良摄/太原） 圣诞节即将到来。妻子金妮和我打开贺曼频道，观看圣诞电影。每年这个时候，都是我们敞开心扉去感受身边的爱和人生的时候。我们夫妻俩都有着一副软心肠，被影片感动得哭出声。 我们停止看影片，因为我大声吼起来：“不，卡莉！不要靠近圣诞树！” 在我收养她之前，她被丢弃在我们公寓后面的杂草和灌木丛中，只不过是一团灰白淡黄的小毛球。我是在圣诞节之前几个月收养她的。金妮给她起名为卡莉。 我收养她一周之后，金妮看着我说：“迈克，圣诞树！” “嗯？”我看着金妮。“圣诞树怎么了？” “迈克，圣诞树怎么办？卡莉将会钻进去的。” 我想到了我的那些珍贵的装饰品。它们很多都是我童年时留下来的。有些还是一位亲密朋友送给我的礼物，而且是很昂贵的。“你说得对，金妮。我根本没有想到这点。我相信会没事的。” 我错了! 金妮和我去了一趟储藏小屋，把装放装饰品的箱子和圣诞树堆到她女儿的面包车上，把它们运回家。 在我安装圣诞树时候，卡莉爬到树枝上。我每加一层，她就爬得更高一些。“卡莉，不要！”我大声吼道。这成了我新的口头禅。我感到不耐烦了，就把她关到卫生间，直到我把圣诞树安装好。 我整个晚上都一直在阻止她接近圣诞树。她躲到我的鞋子后面，等待着我往别处看。我一转头，她就会立即跑到圣诞树那里，用爪子抓较低的树枝，看到我要来抓她，就立即跑开了。 我们找来一个水瓶，它可以喷水达3米多高。它成为了我用来对付那个拥抱圣诞树的小家伙的首选武器。我只要看到那些装饰品晃动，就知道我们家那个灰色的圣诞树摧毁者又爬到圣诞树上了。我把水喷射到树枝上，看到她以一种内疚的表情回头看着我，意思是说：“我无法控制自己，爸爸，因为从里往外看更加漂亮。”我接着再喷射一些水，她就不得不爬出来，跑出去舔干身上的水。 我们不能让她独自呆在安放圣诞树的房间里。金妮曾经犯了一次这种错。一天，她带着女儿出去购物。她上车后，想起了卡莉，但她认为只是一个来小时的时间，不会有太大问题。她想：“她在这么短时间内能造成多大破坏呢？” 等她回到家里的时候，挂在较低的树枝上的气球全不见了。卡莉把它们全都抓下来玩了。金妮看到这些气球散落在厨房和大厅里。 卡莉虽然是个小捣蛋，但我们爱她，即使她乱爬圣诞树。那时，她在灌木丛中哭叫，是我们救了她。这是她的第一个圣诞节。她要好好地过这个圣诞节。 （译自《回音壁》） 您若认为此文对教育有益，敬 请 传 阅、推 荐、转 载。 原文如下，若有问题，可留言，我将尽量回答。 Christmas Callie Michael T. Smith Christmas is coming. Ginny and I turn on the Hallmark channel and watch Christmas movies. It’s the time of year to open our hearts and feel the love and life around us. We both have soft hearts and love a good cry. We paused the movie, as I yelled, “No, Callie! Get away from the tree!” She was just a tiny ball of gray and beige fur living in the grass and brush behind our apartment. I rescued her a few months before Christmas. Ginny named her Callie, because she is a calico. A week after I rescued her, Ginny looked at me, “Mike, the Christmas tree!” “Huh?” I looked at Gin. “What about it?” “Mike, what about your tree? Callie will get in it.” I thought about my precious ornaments. Many came from my childhood. Some were gifts from a dear friend and expensive. “You’re right, Gin. I never thought about that. I’m sure it will be OK.” I was wrong! Ginny and I took a trip to the storage shed, piled the boxes of ornaments and the tree into her daughter’s van and brought them home. As I put the tree together, Callie climbed the branches. Each layer I added, she climbed higher. “Callie, no!” I yelled – my new mantra. I grew impatient and locked her in the bathroom until I was done. I spent the evening trying to keep her from the tree. She hid behind my shoes and waited for me to look away. As soon as I turned my head, she ran to the tree, pawedat the lower branches and sprinted away before I could get to her. We found a water bottle. It could squirt water a good ten feet. It became my weapon of choice to use on the little tree hugger. I’d notice ornaments swaying and know our grey Christmas destroyer was in the tree again. I peered through the branches and saw her looking back at me with a guilty look that said, “I can’t help myself, daddy. It’s even prettier on the inside looking out.” A few squirts of water from my trusty bottle made her climb out and slink away to lick her wet fur. We can’t leave her alone in the room where our tree is displayed. Ginny made that mistake once. She went shopping with her daughter one day. When she got in the car, she remembered, but knew she’d only be out for a little over an hour, “How much damage can she do in that little bit of time?” She reasoned. When she got home, all the balls on the lower branches were missing. Callie knocked them all off and played with them. Ginny found them in the kitchen and down the hall. Callie is a hand full, but we love her, tree climbing and all. She cried in the brush. We saved her. It’s her first Christmas. She’s making the best of it. |
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