Mother had been courageous， it seemed to me， through the ordeal of the flood. She was steady and calm， and kept things going in good order. But that night she sat on the top of the stairs with her head on her crossedcrossed adj.交叉的，十字的， 划掉的 arms and cried. I had never seen her like that， and there was a sound in her weeping that made me afraid. I wanted to help her， but I couldnt think of what I could possibly do. I just knew I had to figure out something.
The next morning， after breakfast， I did a geography lesson and then Mother said I could go downstairs and play in the boat. I rowedrow v.划(船) once around the downstairs， avoiding the mess of timbers in the hall where the terrible accident had occurred. The books had begun to sink. I stared down into the dark water and could see nothing. It was right then that I got the idea.
依我看来，母亲一直勇敢地经受着这场洪水所带来的重要考验。她从容、镇静，有条不紊地安排好每一件事。然而那晚，她坐在楼梯口上抱头痛哭。我以前从来没有见她伤心成这样，她的哭声让我感到害怕。我想安慰她，却又不知该做什么。我只知道我得弄清什么事情。
第二天早上吃完早餐后，我做好地理作业，母亲说我可以下楼去船上玩了。我绕开门厅前掉下来的乱七八糟的木料，在楼下划了一圈。漂在水上的书已经开始下沉。我盯着黑水往下看，什么也看不见，在这个时候我忽然有了个办法。
I made a hookhook n.钩， 吊钩 from a wire coathangercoathanger n. 衣架 and carefully fastened it to a weighted line. Then I let it sink and began to drag it slowly back and forth. I spent the next hour or so moving the boat and dragging my line—hoping to find pieces of my mothers lost treasure. But time after time the line came up empty.
As the water rose day after day， I continued trying to recover some remnantremnant n.残余， 剩余， 零料， 残迹adj.剩余的， 残留的 of my mothers broken china. Soon， however， the water inside had risen to the stairway landing. On the day water covered the gutters outside， my father decided we would have to seek shelter in the tents on the hill. A powerboat was to pick us up that afternoon. We would leave by the porch roof.
我用衣架钩做成一个吊钩，小心地将它系到一根有着重量的绳子上。然后我把它放到水里，并开始来回慢慢地拖动起来。我大约花了一个小时，划船，拖绳——希望能够找到母亲失去的瓷器。但一次次地，绳子拉上来，什么也没有钩到。
河水每天涨个不停，我继续试着去寻找母亲那些破损的瓷器。然而不久，河水就涨到了楼梯平台上。在河水漫过房外檐槽的那天，父亲作出决定，我们得搬到山上的帐篷里去庇护了。那天下午有艘机动船来接我们，我们从前廊的屋顶上离开。
I spent the morning hurriedly securing things in my room. Then I got into my rowboat for the last time. I dragged my line through the water. Nothing. After some time I heard my parents calling， so I headed back toward the stairway. Just as I made the last turn， I snagged something.
Holding my breath， I slowly raised my catch to the surface. As the dark water draineddrain vi.排水， 流干 from it， I could make out the bright roses and gold leaf design. It seemed dazzling to me. I had found the gravy boat from my mothers china service. My line had caught on a small chip in the lip.
My father called down to me again. “This is serious business，” he said. “Lets go.” So I stowed the treasure in my jacket and rowed as fast as I could to the stair landing.
The powerboat picked us up and headed to higher ground. It began to rain， and for the first time I was really afraid. The water might rise forever， might cover the whole valley， the trees， even the hills.
上午，我仓促地绑住我房间里的东西。然后我最后一次跳上划艇。我又用绳子在水中拖了一遍。什么也没有。不一会儿，听到父亲和母亲在唤我，我划回楼梯处。就在我拐最后一个弯时，我钩住了什么东西。
我屏住气息，慢慢地将物品打捞拉到水面上。它刚浮出黑水，我就认出鲜亮的玫瑰和金色的叶片图案。我感到眼花缭乱。我找到了母亲那套瓷器中的船形肉卤盘。绳子刚好勾住了这只瓷盘边上的一个小缺口。
父亲又朝下喊我。“这不是闹着玩的，”他说。“快走。”我把肉卤盘藏到上衣里，尽快划向楼梯平台。
机动船带着我们往高地方向开去。天开始下起雨来，我头一次真正感到了恐惧。河水也许会一直涨，淹没整个山谷、树林乃至山丘。
By the time we were settled in a Red Cross tent， we were worn out. Father had gone off to care for sick people， and Mother sat on my cot with her arm around my shoulder. She smiled at me， if you can call it that. Then I reached under my pillow pillow n.枕头， 枕垫 and took out the gravy boat.
She looked at it， then at me. Then she took it in her hands and held it for a long time. She was very quiet， just sitting， gazing at the gravy boat. She seemed both close to me and also very far away， as though she was remembering. I dont know what she was thinking， but she pulled me into her arms and held me tight.
We lived in the tent for weeks， cold and often hungry. As the flood crested， an oil slick caught fire and burned our house down to the waterline. We never went back. Instead， we moved to a house near Cincinnati， far from the river.
我们在红十字会的搭建帐篷住下后，全都疲惫不堪。父亲去照看病人了；母亲坐在我床边，手换着我的肩膀。她对我微笑——如果你可以称它为微笑的话。这时，我把手伸到枕头底下，拿出那只船形肉卤盘。
她看了看盘子，又看了看我。然后她把盘子拿在手里看了很久。她非常平静，就那样坐着，凝视着肉卤盘。她似乎离我很近，却又仿佛很远，像在回忆着什么。我不知道她在想什么，但她把我拥入怀里，紧紧地抱着。
我们就这样在帐篷里住了几周，常常忍冻挨饿。当洪峰来时，水面上的一层油着火，烧光了我家的房子吃水线以上的部分。我们无法再回去，而是全家搬到了离河很远的辛辛那提附近的一幢房子里。
By Easter we were settled in， and we celebrated that special Sunday with a feast. While Dad carved the lamb， Mother went into the kitchen and returned with the gravy boat. She held my gift for a moment as though it was something unspeakably unspeakably adv.无法形容地 precious. Then， smiling at me， she placed it gently on the table. I said to myself right then that nothing would ever happen to that gravy boat as long as I lived.
And nothing ever has. Now I use the gravy boat just as she had， taking it carefully from the shelf and filling it just as she did with dark， rich turkey gravy for family dinners and other special occasionsoccasion n.场合，时刻；时机. When guests ask about the curious old dish， I sometimes tell the story of how I fished it from the river in our house.
到复活节那天，我们搬进了新家，全家在一起设宴庆祝那个特别的星期日。待父亲在切羊肉的时候，母亲到厨房拿来那只船形肉卤盘。她把我的这份礼物捧在手里好一会儿，仿佛这是件难以用言语形容的珍贵的东西。然后，她一边对着我微笑，一边轻轻地把盘子放到了桌上。就在那时我对自己说，只要我活着，我一定会让这只盘子不再出事。
的确没有出过事。如今我像母亲那时一样用着这只盘子，小心地从碗柜的架板上将它拿下来，在家庭晚宴上和其他特别的时刻，我用它盛上黑而肥美的火鸡肉汁。当客人问及这只奇特而古老的盘子时，我也会讲讲这个我是如何将它从我家的河水里捞出来的故事。
But beyond the events of the flood， the gravy boat is a treasure that connects me to the people and the places of my past. Mother tried to explain， and now I understand. It is not the object so much as the connection that I cherish. That little porcelain porcelain adj.瓷制的， 精美的， 脆的 boat， chipped and worn with age， keeps me in touch—just as she said it would—with her life， her joy and her love.
但除了那场洪水的经历之外，这只船形肉卤盘还是将我同过去的亲人和住处紧紧相联的珍贵物品。母亲尽力解释过这一点，现在我明白了。我珍惜的不是瓷器本身，而是由它而建立起来的那种联系。这只小小的船形瓷器，随着岁月的沉淀，遍体鳞伤，却将我同母亲的人生、母亲的欢乐和母亲的慈爱永远相联——就像她曾经说过的那样。
一个小小的船形瓷器何以被视若珍品？亲人已逝，睹物思人，我们还能感受到那份浓浓的亲情，那种面对困难坚强无畏的精神更使人备受鼓舞。母爱是坚不可摧的，母爱是一种精神的力量，永远绽放着生命中最有魅力的光芒。这种光环照耀着我们的前程。