“Hello,” I said. “I’m Robert Peterson. I missed your little girl today and wondered where she was?” “Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance, please accept my apologies.” “Not at all—she’s a delightful child,” I said. “Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had leukemia. Maybe she didn’t tell you.” Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch my breath. “She loved this beach; so when she asked to come, we couldn’t say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the last few weeks, she declined rapidly...” Her voice faltered, “She left something for you...if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment while I look?” I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something, to say to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared envelope, with MR. P printed in bold childish letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon of a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed. A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I took Wendy’s mother in my arms. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” I muttered over and over, and we wept together.
The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six words one for each year of her life—that speak to me of harmony, courage, and undemanding love. A gift from a child with sea-blue eyes and hair the color of sand— who taught me the gift of love. Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas can make us lose focus about what is truly important. This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug; and by all means, take a moment, even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
我第一次在家附近的海滩遇见她时，她才6岁，正在用沙子堆筑一个城堡之类的东西。她抬起头来，眼睛如大海般碧蓝澄澈。
“您好！”她说。我随意地点点头，不想被一个小孩子烦扰。“我在堆建东西。”她说。“我看到了，堆什么呢？”我心不在焉地问道。“噢，我不知道，我只是喜欢沙子给我的感觉。”这听起来不错，我想。一只矶鹞从我们身边掠过，“那是一种快乐。”孩子说。“是什么？”“是快乐，妈妈说矶鹞会给我们带来快乐。”那只鸟落在沙滩上。“再见了，我的快乐，”我喃喃自语，“你好，我的痛苦。”我转身继续漫步，沮丧极了，觉得生活好像完全失去了平衡。“你叫什么名字？”她追问。“罗伯特，”我答道，“罗伯特·皮特森。”“我叫温迪，今年6岁。”“你好，温迪，”她咯咯地笑起来，“你真有趣，”她说。尽管内心沉郁，我还是笑了，继续走着。身后传来她悦耳的笑声，“皮特森先生，你要再来啊，”她喊道，“我们还会度过一个快乐的日子。”
接下来的几个星期，参加家庭教师协会和照顾卧病在床的母亲占据了我所有的时间。一个早晨，我放下手头的事情。“我要去看看矶鹞，”我对自己说。尽管海风冷得刺骨，我还是沿着沙滩漫步，寻求一份宁静。
“你好，彼特森先生，”那个小女孩突然出现在我面前，把我吓了一跳，我几乎把她忘了。“你想跟我一起玩吗？”“你想玩什么？”我带着一丝不悦，问道。“我不知道，你说呢？”“看手势猜字谜怎么样？”我略带讽刺地说道。“我不知道那是什么。”“那就走走吧，”我看着她，发现她长得很漂亮。“你住在哪里？”我问她。“就在那儿。”她指着一排房子说道。“你在哪里上学？”“我不上学，妈妈说我们在度假。”我们沿着沙滩漫步，这个小女孩一直叽叽喳喳讲个不停，我却想着别的事情。我要回家时，温迪说，今天她过得很开心。我的心情也奇怪地变好了，笑着跟她说，我也一样。
三个星期后，带着无比的恐慌，我再次冲到海滩上，没有心思向温迪打招呼。“如果你不介意的话，”我对紧跟在身后的她说，“我想一个人静一静。”她脸色看起来异常苍白，上气不接下气地问道，“为什么？”我转身喊道，“因为我妈妈去世了！”很快我又想到，“天，我为什么要跟这个小女孩说呢？”“噢，”她平静地说，“今天真不幸。”“是的，”我说，“昨天，前天，统统都过去吧！”“你受到伤害了吗？”她问道。“受到什么伤害？”我很生气，便大步走开了。
大约一个多月后，我又一次来到海滩，她却不在。我感到内疚、羞愧，有点想念她了。散完步后，我走到那排房子前，敲了敲门，一个憔悴的女人开了门。
“你好，”我说，“我是罗伯特·皮特森，今天我很想念你的小女儿，不知道她在哪里呢？”“噢，皮特森先生，请进。温迪常提起您。很抱歉，她打扰您了。如果她给您惹麻烦了，请接受我的歉意。”“不——她是个可爱的孩子，”“皮特森先生，温迪上星期去世了，她得了白血病，可能她没有告诉您吧。”我哑然失措，扶住一把椅子，简直无法呼吸。“她喜欢这片海滩，所以她要来这儿，我们无法拒绝。到这来以后，她的状况似乎好了很多，她说她每天都很快乐。但最近几周，她的状况急剧恶化……”她的声音颤抖着，“她留了些东西给您……我去找找，您等一下，好吗？”我呆呆地点点头，想对这个年轻的妈妈说些什么。她给我一个污损的信封，上面有孩子稚嫩的字迹写着皮特森先生，信封里有一幅画，用蜡笔画着黄色的沙滩，蔚蓝的大海，还有一只棕色的鸟儿，下面认真地写着：一只矶鹞会带给你快乐。
泪水模糊了我的双眼，我拥抱着温迪的妈妈，“对不起，对不起，对不起，”我一遍又一遍地说着，我们一起痛哭起来。
我把这幅珍贵的画镶上边，挂在书房里。六个单词分别代表她生命中的每一年——它们向我诉说着和谐、勇气和无私的爱。一个眼睛像大海般深蓝，头发像沙滩般金黄的小女孩，送我一份珍贵的礼物，教会了我爱的真谛。生活如此繁杂，每天的忙碌和身心的累累伤痕让我们忽视了那些真正重要的东西。这个星期，去给你爱着的人一个拥抱吧！不论怎样，都要抽出时间，停下来去闻闻花香，哪怕只有十秒钟的时间。
记忆填空
1. In spite of my gloom I too and walked on. Her musical giggle followed me.“Come , Mr. P,”she called.“We’ll have another day.”
2. The days and that followed belonged to : PTA meetings, and an ailing mother. The was shining one morning as I took my hands of the dishwater.
3. Tears welled up in my . I took Wendy’s mother in my .“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,”I muttered over and over, and we wept .
佳句翻译
1. 尽管海风冷得刺骨，我还是沿着沙滩漫步，寻求一份宁静。
2. 我们沿着沙滩漫步，这个小女孩一直叽叽喳喳讲个不停，我却想着别的事情。
3. 生活如此繁杂，每天的忙碌和身心的累累伤痕让我们忽视了那些真正重要的东西。
短语应用
1. I was depressed; my life seemed completely out of balance.
out of balance：失去平衡；混乱
2. This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug; and by all means, take a moment, even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
by all means：无论如何，一定，务必