蒲公英

Dandelions

蒲公英

One lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always.

三年级的一次午间休息成了我永世难忘的记忆。

I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly rehearsed my lines with me.

我在学校的话剧中被选担任公主的角色，我的母亲连续几周不辞辛劳地陪我练习台词。

But no matter how easily I delivered them at home,

但是尽管我在家能够倒背如流，

as soon as I stepped on stage, every word disappeared from my head.

只要我踏上舞台，我脑中便一片空白，一句话也说不出来。

Finally, my teacher took me aside.

终于，我的老师把我叫到一边，

She explained that she had written a narrator's part to the play, and asked me to switch roles.

她告诉我，她已经为这部剧写了一个旁白的角色，并让我换成这个角色。

I didn't tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day.

那天我回家吃午饭的时候，没有把这件事告诉母亲。

But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practise my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the garden.

但她感觉到了我的局促不安。她并没有提议和我练习台词，而是问我是否想去花园走走。

It was a lovely spring day and the rose vine was turning green.

那是一个美丽的春日，玫瑰正在慢慢长出绿色藤蔓。

We could see yellow dandelions popping through the grass in bunches.

我们看到了一簇簇黄色的蒲公英正在草丛中盛放。

I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the clumps.

我看见母亲在一簇蒲公英旁随意地俯下身去，

"I think I'm going to dig up all these weeds," she said. "From now on, we'll only have roses in this garden."

“我觉得我应该把这些杂草全挖出来，” 她说道，“从现在开始，花园里只养玫瑰了。”

"But I like dandelions." I protested. "All flowers are beautiful — even dandelions."

“但是我喜欢蒲公英呀，” 我抗议道，“所有花都很美——蒲公英也不例外。”

My mother looked at me seriously.

母亲严肃地看着我。

"Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn't it?" she asked thoughtfully.

“是啊，每种花都以它独特的方式给人享受，对吗？” 她若有所思地问道。

"And that is true of people too," she added. "Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that."

“人也是这样的，” 她接着说，“不是每个人都能扮演公主，这不是什么丢脸的事。”

Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened.

听到她猜出了我的痛苦后，我便释怀了。我一边哭一边告诉她事情的经过。

"But you will be a beautiful narrator," she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her.

“可你会成为一个出色的旁白，” 她说道。这提醒了我，我是多么地喜欢大声对着她朗读故事。

"The narrator's part is as important as the part of the princess."

“旁白的角色和公主的角色同样重要呀。”

Over the next few weeks, with her constant encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role.

在接下来的几周里，在母亲始终如一的鼓励下，我学会了对自己的角色感到自豪。

Lunchtimes were spent reading over my lines and talking about what I would wear.

午饭时间，我总是和母亲一起练习我的台词，谈论我表演时应该穿什么衣服。