"Come with me,"the man said. "Over that hill is an old cellar hole,from somebody's farm of years ago,and there are lilacs all round it. The man who owns this land said I could poke around here anytime. I'm sure he won't mind if we pick a few lilacs. "
"隨我來,"那個男人說,"翻過那座小山,有個老地窖,幾年前是一個人的農場,四周長滿了紫丁香。這塊地的主人說我可以隨時到這兒來閑逛。我相信,要是我們采幾束紫丁香,他不會介意。"
Before they got halfway up the hill,the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them,and the kids started running. Soon,the mother began running,too,until she reached the top.
還沒等他們到達半山腰,紫丁香的芬芳已經向他們飄了過來。于是,孩子們開始奔跑。不久,那位母親也開始跑起來,直至到達山頂。
There,far from view of passing motorists and hidden from encroaching civilization,were the towering lilacs bushes,so laden with the huge,cone-shaped flower clusters that they almost bent double. With a smile,the young woman rushed up to the nearest bush and buried her face in the flowers,drinking in the fragrance and the memories it recalled.
那里,遠離了過往司機的視野,避開了紛擾的文明世界,高聳的丁香花叢開滿了碩大的圓錐形的串串花束,幾乎把花莖壓成了兩折。那個年輕女人微笑著沖到最近的一處花叢,把臉埋在鮮花中,啜飲著芳香,陶醉在重新喚起的記憶中。
While the man examined the cellar hole and tried to explain to the children what the house must have looked like,the woman drifted among the lilacs. Carefully,she chose a sprig here,another one there,and clipped them with her husband's pocket knife. She was in no hurry,relishing each blossom as a rare and delicate treasure.
在那個男人察看地窖試圖向孩子們解釋這座房子必定是什么樣子的當兒,那個女人不由自主地走進了紫丁香花叢。她小心翼翼地從這兒摘一枝,那兒挑一束,然后用丈夫的袖珍小刀將它們剪下來。她不慌不忙,像欣賞稀有珍寶似地欣賞著每一朵花。
Finally,though,they returned to their car for the trip home. While the kids chattered and the man drove,the woman sat smiling,surrounded by her flowers,a faraway look in her eyes.
然而,他們終于還是返回了汽車,走上了回家的路。孩子們嘰嘰喳喳說個不停,那個男人駕著車,那個女人坐在那兒面帶微笑,她周圍放滿了鮮花,眼睛里充滿著向往。