A Bouquet for Miss Benson　意外的常春藤

A Bouquet for Miss Benson　意外的常春藤

◎ Paul Villard

Miss Benson was the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful creature that ever walked the earth. She was my second-grade teacher, and I was going to marry her when I grew up—if she would wait. I would sit squirming in my seat for the entire morning to keep from raising my hand. I could not bear to miss one precious moment of her presence by leaving the room.

班森小姐是世界上最親切、最甜美、最美麗的人。她是我二年級(jí)的老師，我長(zhǎng)大了一定要娶她——只要她愿意等我。我常常一整個(gè)上午都坐在座位上扭來(lái)扭去，就是不舉手。她在教室里的每時(shí)每刻都很寶貴，我舍不得出去。

My hand was always the first to be raised, however, when Miss Benson called for volunteers to clean the blackboards or to gather papers and bring them to her desk. That was the best chore of all. It made possible getting near enough to her to close out the others in the classroom. I would arrange and rearrange the papers. They had to be in perfect order before I would make my reluctant way back to my seat.

但是，當(dāng)老師問(wèn)誰(shuí)愿意擦黑板，誰(shuí)愿意收卷子交到講臺(tái)上，我總是頭一個(gè)舉手。這可是最美的差事了?？梢云查_(kāi)班上的其他同學(xué)，越來(lái)越接近她。我會(huì)把卷子一遍遍地重新整理，放得整整齊齊，才依依不舍地回到我的座位上去。

Early in the term, I started pestering my mother to put an extra apple or peach in my lunch. I never quite worked up the courage to say it was for my teacher, as I never quite worked up the courage to hand my offering to Miss Benson directly. Each day the delicacy found its way unobserved to the corner of her desk. And each day the response was the same.

這學(xué)期開(kāi)學(xué)不久，我就開(kāi)始纏著我媽要她在我的午餐里多加一個(gè)蘋(píng)果或桃子。我總是沒(méi)能鼓起勇氣說(shuō)這是給老師的，也一直沒(méi)敢當(dāng)面送給老師。每天都有好吃的東西偷偷地放在講臺(tái)的角落里。她每天的反應(yīng)也都是一樣的。

Miss Benson would come in and sit down. “Good morning, children.”

班森老師走進(jìn)教室，然后坐下來(lái)。“孩子們，早上好！”

“Good morning, Miss Benson.” in unison.

“班森老師早上好！”全班齊聲回答。

“Why, how nice!” She would pick up the offering of the day, then look around the room. “What thoughtful little boy or girl brought me this?”

“哈，真好！”她拿起當(dāng)天的禮物，環(huán)顧四周看了看，“是哪個(gè)周到的男生還是女生送給我的？”

No one claimed the honor, least of all me. I kept my head down, looking at my desk.

沒(méi)人承認(rèn)做了這件好事，我就更不用說(shuō)了。我一直低著頭，兩眼盯著自己的書(shū)桌。

“Can it be that I have a secret admirer?” she would ask.

她問(wèn)：“難道我有一個(gè)神秘的愛(ài)慕者嗎？”

I would feel the red rising in my face. I was certain that everyone was looking at me, and I would sigh with when Miss Benson put the fruit away and started the lesson.

我覺(jué)得我的臉發(fā)紅了。我肯定大伙都在盯著我看，只見(jiàn)老師把水果放在一邊，開(kāi)始講課，我這才松了一口氣。

One fall morning, the class was abuzz with excitement. Someone had discovered that the next day, Friday, was Miss Benson’s birthday. Everyone wanted to get her a present. My heart gave a leap, at last I could give her something openly. That afternoon was spent combing the fields for wild flowers. Not many were in bloom at that time of year, but I found several kinds of bright berries on shrubs, some dry thistle heads. And finally I came upon a patch of gorgeous crimson leaves...

一個(gè)秋天的上午，全班都興奮地鬧騰起來(lái)。原來(lái)有人發(fā)現(xiàn)，第二天星期五，是班森老師的生日。每個(gè)人都想要送個(gè)禮物給她。我的心都快要跳出來(lái)了，我終于可以大大方方送她東西了。那天下午，我一直在田野里搜尋野花。那個(gè)季節(jié)還在盛開(kāi)的花不多見(jiàn)了，但我還是在灌木叢里找到了好幾種明亮鮮艷的漿果，摘到些干枯的薊花頭。最后我還看到有一小塊地里，有好一片艷麗的深紅色的葉子……

In the morning I hung back as others presented their gifts. Finally I went to the desk and gave the bouquet to Miss Benson. She exclaimed with pleasure as she took it, and held it to her cheek for a moment. My reward was a smile and a pat on the head.

第二天早晨，大家都紛紛獻(xiàn)上了他們的禮物，我卻退縮了。最后，我走上講臺(tái)，把一束花送給了老師。她接過(guò)花，欣喜得叫了起來(lái)，又把花捧在臉頰上。她對(duì)我報(bào)以一笑，還輕輕拍了下我的頭。

The next Monday, Miss Benson was not in class. About the middle of the morning, I was asked to go to the principal’s office. When I arrived, I was surprised to see my mother. On a table was my bouquet.

接下來(lái)的那個(gè)星期一，班森老師沒(méi)來(lái)上課。到了快中午的時(shí)候，我被叫到了校長(zhǎng)室。當(dāng)我進(jìn)去時(shí)，驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)我媽也在。桌上還放著我那束花。

“Do you know where Miss Benson is today?” the principal asked.

“你知道班森老師今天去哪兒了嗎？”校長(zhǎng)問(wèn)。

“No, sir,” I answered.

“報(bào)告，不知道。”我回答。

“Miss Benson,” he said, slowly and clearly. “is in the hospital, and you sent her there!”

“班森老師，”校長(zhǎng)說(shuō)著，聲音緩慢而清晰，“在醫(yī)院里——是你害了她！”

I sat, stricken, in my chair.

我坐在椅子上一動(dòng)不動(dòng)，完全被嚇壞了。

“Do you know what you gave her?” he continued.

“你知道你送她什么啦？”他又問(wèn)。

I nodded. “Berries, thistles and pretty red leaves.” I listed.

我點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。“漿果、薊花，還有漂亮的紅葉。”我一一數(shù)道。

“Those pretty red leaves’ are poison ivy, young man.” (Poison ivy is a kind of sumac which can cause a severe skin rash if touched) His voice was filling with anger. “How did you protect yourself when you picked them? Gloves?”

“小家伙，那些‘漂亮的紅葉’是有毒的常春藤！”（有毒的常春藤是一種蘇模葉，可觸發(fā)嚴(yán)重的皮疹）他的聲音充滿了怒氣。“你摘的時(shí)候是怎么保護(hù)自己的？戴手套嗎？”

I shook my head. “Honest, I didn’t know they were poison ivy.” I started to cry.

我搖搖頭。“真的，我不知道它們是有毒的常春藤。”我哭了起來(lái)。

The principal stood up. “Paul, I am suspending you for ten days. What happens after that depends upon your behavior when you return.”

校長(zhǎng)站起來(lái)。“保羅，我罰你停學(xué)十天。之后怎么辦就看你十天后復(fù)學(xué)的表現(xiàn)了。”

When I went back, Mother was sitting in her rocker, she held out her arms, and I sat in her lap while she rocked me for a new minutes. “Let’s have a party!” she exclaimed finally. “What would you like to do the very most?”

我回來(lái)后，媽媽正坐在她的搖椅上。她伸出雙臂，把我摟在懷里搖了一陣。“我們找點(diǎn)什么來(lái)玩吧！”她最后問(wèn)了我一聲，“你最想做什么？”

“I’d like to go see Miss Benson.” I replied.

“我想去看班森老師。”我回答。

Miss Benson was sitting up in bed when we arrived. Her face was covered with bandages. Only one eye was showing. Both of her hands were swathed as well.

我們到達(dá)醫(yī)院的時(shí)候，班森老師正從病床上坐起來(lái)。她的臉上纏滿了繃帶，只露出一只眼睛，兩只手也裹著繃帶。

“I didn’t know they were poison ivy,” I blurted out. “I didn’t mean to make you sick. I only wanted to give you something... ” I stopped talking and swallowed hard.

“我不知道那是有毒的常春藤，”我脫口而出，“我不是有意要傷害您的。我只是想送您一點(diǎn)東西……”我說(shuō)不下去了，強(qiáng)忍住不哭。

Miss Benson’s one eye studied me. “You wanted to give me something special, didn’t you Paul?” I nodded.

班森老師用那只眼端詳著我。“你想送我一點(diǎn)特別的東西，對(duì)吧，保羅？”我點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。

“All those apples were from you, weren’t they?” Again I nodded.

“所有那些蘋(píng)果也都是你送的，對(duì)吧？”我又點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。

“When I get these bandages off,” she said, “I am going to give you a great a big hug.”

“等我拆掉繃帶，”她說(shuō)，“我要給你一個(gè)大大的擁抱。”

I was filled with happiness. She was not mad at me.

我感到幸福極了。她沒(méi)有在生我的氣。

“And I’ll tell you a great big secret, too, Paul,” she continued. “When I am married, if I have a son, I would like him to grow up just like you.”

“保羅，我還要告訴你一個(gè)大秘密，”她接著說(shuō)，“等我結(jié)了婚，要是有個(gè)兒子的話，我就要他長(zhǎng)大了像你一樣。”

I wasn’t certain that I saw a tear in her eye as Mother led me out of the room.

我媽領(lǐng)我走出病房的時(shí)候，我仿佛看到班森老師的那只眼睛正閃著淚花。

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