評(píng)論
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Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
好幾次了,我女兒打電話來(lái)說(shuō)：“媽媽，你務(wù)必得在那些水 仙花凋謝之前來(lái)看看它們。”我是想去，可從拉古娜到箭頭湖要開(kāi)兩個(gè)小時(shí)的車。
“I will come next Tuesday,” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
“那我下周二去吧。”在她第三次打來(lái)電話時(shí)，我極不情愿 地答應(yīng)道。
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there.
到了那個(gè)周二，清晨很冷又下著雨，不過(guò)既然答應(yīng)了， 我還是開(kāi)車去了。
When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said,
等我終于到了卡羅琳家，擁抱問(wèn)候過(guò)我的外 孫們，說(shuō):
“Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”
“卡羅琳，別想那水仙了！天陰又有霧，路都看不清。 這世上除了你和這些孩子，沒(méi)有什么能讓我為想去看他們?cè)匍_(kāi)一 步車了！ ”
My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, mother.”
女兒平靜地笑著說(shuō)：“媽媽，我們一直都在這種天氣里開(kāi)車 的呀！ ”
“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.
“那反正你甭想讓我再開(kāi)車上路了，除非天晴了，然后我就 直接開(kāi)車回家！ ”我重申道。
“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car.”
“我本來(lái)指望你能開(kāi)車捎我去修車廠取我的車呢！ ”
“How far will we have to drive?”
“我們得開(kāi)多遠(yuǎn)啊？ ”
“Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive, I’m used to this.”
“就幾條街，”卡羅琳說(shuō)，“我來(lái)開(kāi)，反正我習(xí)慣了這種天氣。”
After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage!”“We ‘re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”
過(guò)了幾分鐘，我不得不問(wèn)：“我們這是去哪兒啊？這不是去修車廠的路啊！ ”卡羅琳笑了，“我們要去的那個(gè)修車廠很遠(yuǎn)， 要經(jīng)過(guò)水仙花。”
“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.”
“卡羅琳，”我嚴(yán)厲地說(shuō)，“請(qǐng)你掉頭回去。”
“It’s all right, mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
“沒(méi)事的，媽媽，我保證。如果你錯(cuò)過(guò)了這次經(jīng)歷，你永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)原諒自己的。”
After about 20 minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden.”
大概過(guò)了 20分鐘，我們轉(zhuǎn)到了一條碎石小路上，我看到一個(gè)小教堂。在教堂的稍遠(yuǎn)一側(cè)，我看見(jiàn)一個(gè)手寫的牌子，上面寫著：“水仙花園”。
We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.
我們走下車，一人領(lǐng)著一個(gè)孩子。我跟著卡羅琳順小道而行， 轉(zhuǎn)到小道的一角，我抬頭一看，驚住了。
It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
在我面前是極為壯觀的 景象，看上去仿佛有人把一大缸金子傾倒下來(lái)，覆蓋了峰頂和山 坡。那些花栽種成宏偉的漩渦圖案——寬寬窄窄的條紋有很多顏 色，有深橘、白、檸檬黃、橙紅、番紅和乳黃。每種不同色系的 多種顏色種植為一組，這樣看上去每組都用自己獨(dú)特的色調(diào)一圈 圈地在自己的河流中流淌。那有五畝花。
“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn.
“這是誰(shuí)種的呢？”我問(wèn)卡羅琳。
Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in nidst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.
“就一個(gè)女人，”卡羅琳回答，“她就以這片花為生。那是 她的家。”卡羅琳指著一個(gè)整修得很好的A字形房子，在一片 壯麗的景象當(dāng)中，這房子看起來(lái)小而樸素。我走到房子跟前’ 在院子里，我看到一張海報(bào)，標(biāo)題是“答案-我知道你要問(wèn)的這些問(wèn)題”。
The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read.
第一個(gè)答案很簡(jiǎn)單，寫著：“50，000株”。
The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain.”
第二個(gè)答案是：“一次種一株，一個(gè)女人，兩只手，兩只腳，不需多動(dòng)腦”
The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”
第三個(gè)答案是：“開(kāi)始于1958年”
There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than 35 years before, had begun—one bulb at a time—to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
這就是“水仙定律”。對(duì)于我，那一刻是一次改變生活的經(jīng)歷。我在琢磨這個(gè)我從未謀面的女人，她，在35年前，開(kāi)始一次種一株——給她自己帶來(lái)了美的景象和花滿山頂?shù)目鞓?lè)。
Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
就這樣一次種一株，年復(fù)一年，這個(gè)不知名的女人永遠(yuǎn)地 改變了她所居住的世界，她創(chuàng)造了無(wú)法形容的壯麗、美好和感動(dòng)。
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is , learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time—often just one baby-step at a time—and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
在這個(gè)水仙花園中得出的定律是值得慶祝的最偉大的定律 之一。那就是，懂得向我們的目標(biāo)邁進(jìn)，只求一步一個(gè)腳印——懂通常一次就一小步——懂得去熱愛(ài)正在做的事，懂得利用時(shí)間的 積累。
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magenificent things. We can change the world.
當(dāng)我們把時(shí)間的碎片疊加，再加上每天的一點(diǎn)努力，我們 會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)我們也能成就輝煌。我們也能改變這個(gè)世界。
It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
“這讓我在某種意義上有點(diǎn)喪氣。”我跟卡羅琳說(shuō)，“如果我 35年前有一個(gè)宏偉的目標(biāo)，然后也像這樣，次種一株’地做 下去，這些年我會(huì)有什么成就呢？想想我到底能做成什么！ ”
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.
女兒直截了當(dāng)?shù)乜偨Y(jié)了那天的收獲。她說(shuō)：“從明天開(kāi)始。”
