雙語|現(xiàn)代散文:張曉風 高處何處有

—To Students of the Graduating Class 贈給畢業(yè)同學

◎ Zhang Xiaofeng ◎ 張曉風

Long，long ago，in a very，very faraway place，a tribal chief found himself terminally ill.

很久很久以前，在一個很遠很遠的地方，一位老酋長正病危。

He summoned three most promising young villagers to his bedside and said，“As I'm leaving you soon，I hope you can do one thing more for me．Young men，you three are all unusually strong and resourceful，so I'd like you to strive to climb that high mountain which we've always been worshipping as a sacred place．Now do your best to reach the topmost and most forbidding part of it and then turn back to tell me about your findings.”

他找來村中最優(yōu)秀的三個年輕人對他們說：“這是我要離開你們的時候了，我要你們?yōu)槲易鲎詈笠患隆Ｄ銈內(nèi)齻€都是身強體壯而又智慧過人的好孩子，現(xiàn)在，請你們盡其可能的去攀登那座我們一向奉為神圣的大山。你們要盡其可能爬到最高的、最凌越的地方，然后，折回頭來告訴我你們的見聞。”

Three days later，the first young man returned smartly dressed and said with smiling face，

三天后，第一個年輕人回來了，他笑容滿面，衣履光鮮：

“Lord，I've been to the mountaintop where I saw flowers of all sorts lining both sides of a path，babbling spring water and singing birds．That's a real nice place.”

“酋長，我到達山頂了，我看到繁花夾道，流泉淙淙，鳥鳴嚶嚶，那地方真不壞啊。”

The old tribal chief replied smilingly，

老酋長笑笑說：

“Son，I've been there before．The place with singing birds and fragrant flowers，as you mentioned，is not the mountaintop．It's the foot of the mountain．Now you can leave.”

“孩子，那條路我當年也走過，你說的鳥語花香的地方不是山頂，而是山麓。你回去吧。”

A week later，the second young man also returned．He looked terribly weary and his face was weather-beaten.

一周以后，第二個年輕人也回來了。他神情疲倦，滿臉風霜：

“Lord，I've been to the mountaintop where I saw groves of tall，solemn pine trees and vultures circling in the air．That's a real nice place.”

“酋長，我到達山頂了。我看到高大肅穆的松樹林。我看到禿鷹盤旋，那是一個好地方。”

“What a pity！”said the tribal chief.“Son，you've been halfway up the mountain rather than to its summit．But you had a real tough time．Now you can leave.”

“可惜呀！孩子，那不是山頂，那是山腰。不過，也難為你了，你回去吧。”

A month later，everybody began to worry about the safety of the third young man．However，he finally showed up，hobbling along in rags．His hair was off-coloured and his lips parched，but his eyes were clear and bright.

一個月過去了，大家都開始為第三位年輕人的安危擔心，他卻一步一蹭，衣不蔽體地回來了。他發(fā)枯唇燥，只剩下清炯的眼神：

“Lord，I succeeded in reaching the summit．Well，what shall I say to you about it？There was nothing there but the wailing highland wind and the blue sky hanging over the land.”

“酋長，我終于到達山頂。但是，我該怎么說呢？那里只有高風悲旋，藍天四垂。”

“So you saw nothing at all？Not even a butterfly？”

“你難道在那里一無所見嗎？難道連蝴蝶也沒有一只嗎？”

“No，lord，nothing．All you can see is yourself．You feel how insignificant you are in this infinite universe and how sorrowful and agitated you are at the thought of heroes through the ages.”

“是的，酋長，高處一無所有。你所能看到的，只有你自己，只有‘個人’被放在天地間的渺小感，只有想起千古英雄的悲激心情。”

“Son，you've reached the real mountaintop．According to our tradition，you'll undoubtedly be made our new tribal chief．My best wishes to you.”

“孩子，你到的是真的山頂。按照我們的傳統(tǒng)，無疑要立你做新酋長，祝福你。”

What makes a real hero？　A real hero has cuts and bruises all over his body，he is all alone on a long journey and he feels with increasing sincerity how small he is.

真英雄何所遇？他遇到的是全身的傷痕，是孤單的長途，以及愈來愈真切的渺小感。

《高處何處有》是臺灣著名女作家張曉風寫的一篇“英雄贊”。文章雖短，但含義深遠，耐人尋味。作者用一個小故事，描述這樣一件事：面對一個崇高目標，有的人原地不動，徘徊不前，有的人不堪艱險，半途而返，一個真正的英雄卻堅持到底，終于登上高峰。他不僅有向上進取的精神，特立獨行，還有高瞻遠矚的胸襟，心境開闊，念及茫茫宇宙和“千古英雄”而深感自己很“渺小”。