Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a water puddle ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle. I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for attack was so unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected. I was startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt. It was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
在佐治亞州，我正沿著一條小路準備穿過樹林時，我看見前方的路上有一個水坑。我掉轉方向，繞到另一邊沒有水和泥的地方。正當我接近水坑時，突然遭到了襲擊！然而我沒有還擊，因為襲擊來得太突然了，襲擊者也太出乎意料了。盡管已經被襲擊了四五次，我卻沒有受到傷害，我感到十分吃驚。我向后退了一步，攻擊者頁停止了襲擊，展開優雅的翅膀，在我面前盤旋著，不再進攻了。如果我受到了傷害，我就不會覺得此事可笑了，但我沒有。真有趣，我笑了。畢竟，襲擊我的是一只蝴蝶！

Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He rammed me in the chest with his head and body, striking me over and over again with all his might, still to no avail. For a second time, I retreated a step while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat a third time. After all, it's just not every day that one is attacked by a butterfly. This time, though, I stepped back several paces to look the situation over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier.He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where he landed.
笑過后，我往前邁了一步，攻擊者又向我沖過來。他用頭和身體撞擊我的胸腔，一次又一次竭盡全力地向我發起進攻，但是毫無成果。我又退后了一步，他的攻擊也減弱了一些。然而當我又試著往前移動時，攻擊者再次向我發起進攻。我的胸腔又反復受到撞擊。我不知如何是好，只能第三次退了回來。畢竟，不是什么人都能遭到蝴蝶襲擊的。這次，我往后退了幾步，環視了一下周圍的環境。我的攻擊者也向后退，落在了地上。就在這一刻，我突然明白了他剛才為什么襲擊我。他有一個伴侶，快要死了，就在他落下來的水坑旁邊。
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to attack me for his mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. Now I knew why and what he was fighting for.
他緊緊依偎在她身旁，翅膀一張一翕，好像在為她扇風。我很欽佩那只蝴蝶在照顧她時所表現出來的愛和勇氣。盡管她已經瀕臨死亡，而我又如此強大，但為了同伴的安全，他大膽向我進攻。他這樣做只是為了讓她度過生命中最后的片刻美好時光。我真不該太粗心以至于差點踩到她！現在我知道他為什么而戰了。
There was really only one option left for me. I carefully made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was only inches wide and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
現在我只能有一種選擇。小心地繞過水坑，走路的另一邊，盡管那邊只有幾英寸寬，而且很泥濘。他敢于攻擊比自己強大得多的對手，僅僅為了保證他同伴的安全，其勇氣實在可嘉。我只能走水坑另一端難走的路以示欽佩。他的確獲得了與她相伴、無人干擾的安寧時光。
I left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.
我留給他們最后的安寧時刻，來到車旁，擦掉了靴子上的泥巴。
Let's remember the courage of that butterfly whenever we see huge obstacles facing us. Use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration to remind ourselves that good things are worth fighting for.
生命中總有一些事值得你義無反顧地去完成，總有一些人值得你不計回報地去付出。正因如此決絕，蝴蝶用它的生命換來了愛人最后時刻的安寧。