双语对照 ● The Boy Under the Tree 树下的男孩
The Boy Under the Tree 树下的男孩
◎ David Coleman & Kevin Randall
In the summer recess between freshman and sophomore[33]years in college, I was invited to be an instructor at a high school leadership camp hosted by a college in Michigan. I was already highly involved in most campus activities, and I jumped at the opportunity.
在大一生活结束的那个暑假，我受邀到密歇根州一所大学主办的高中领导才能夏令营担任辅导员一职。我参加过许多大学举办的活动，于是便欣然接受了这次邀请。
About an hour into the first day of camp, amid the frenzy of icebreakers and forced interactions, I first noticed the boy under the tree. He was small and skinny, and his obvious discomfort and shyness made him appear frail and fragile. Only fifty feet away, two hundred eager campers were bumping bodies, playing, joking and meeting each other, but the boy under the tree seemed to want to be anywhere other than where he was. The desperate loneliness he radiated almost stopped me from approaching him, but I remembered the instructions from the senior staff to stay alert for campers who might feel left out.
夏令营的第一天，我花了一个小时来缓和气氛，强迫大家进行互动。那时我第一次注意到那个树下的男孩。他又小又瘦，明显的不安和羞怯让他看起来更加弱不经风。离他只有50英尺远的地方，两百个狂热的露营爱好者正在蹦蹦跳跳地闹着说着，互相结识。可那个树下的男孩看样子只要不待在这里，去哪儿都可以。他表现出令人绝望的孤寂，仿佛要拒我于之千里之外。这时，我想起那些资深辅导员给我的提醒——给那些可能感到被忽略的队员一些特殊关注。
As I walked toward him, I said, “I, my name is Kevin, and I’m one of the counselors. It’s nice to meet you. How are you?” In a shaky, sheepish voice he reluctantly answered, “Okay, I guess.” I calmly asked him if he wanted to join the activities and meet some new people. He quietly replied, “No, this is not really my thing.”
我朝他走去，说道：“你好，我叫凯文，我是夏令营的辅导员。很高兴见到你。你好吗？”他用颤抖羞怯的声音不情愿地回答道，“还好吧。”我冷静地问他是否愿意参加一些活动，结交一些新朋友。他静静地答道：“不，这真的不是我想做的事情。”
I could sense that he was in a new world, that this whole experience was foreign to him. But I somehow knew it wouldn’t be right to push him, either. He didn’t need a pep talk; he needed a friend. After several silent moments, my first interaction with the boy under the tree was over.
我能感觉到，他处在一个崭新的世界里，这里的一切对他来说都是陌生的。可是，我有时觉得强迫他也不是什么好办法。他需要的不是鼓励的话语，而是一位朋友。一段沉默过后，我和树下男孩的第一次互动也宣告结束了。
At lunch the next day, I found myself leading camp songs at the top of my lungs for two hundred of my new friends. The campers eagerly participated. My gaze wandered over the mass of noise and movement and was caught by the image of the boy from under the tree, sitting alone, staring out the window. I nearly forgot the words to the song I was supposed to be leading. At my first opportunity, I tried again, with the same questions as before, “How are you doing? Are you okay?” To which he again replied, “Yeah, I’m all right. I just don’t really get into this stuff.” As I left the cafeteria, I realized this was going to take more time and effort than I had thought—if it was even possible to get through to him at all.
第二天午餐的时候，我为两百位新朋友高声唱起了夏令营之歌。队员们兴高采烈地跟着我一起唱。我的目光穿过嘈杂流动的人群，停在了那个单独坐在树下凝望着窗外的男孩身上。我差点忘了正在领唱的歌词。我又抓住机会试着再一次接近他，我像上一次那样问道：“你感觉怎么样？你还好吗？”他还是那样回答我：“是的，我还好。我只是不太想做这些事情。”从餐厅走出来的时候，我明白了，要想打开他的心扉，需要的时间和精力比我之前预计的还要多。
That evening at our nightly staff meeting, I made my concerns about him known. I explained to my fellow staff members my impression of him and asked them to pay special attention and spend time with him when they could.
那天晚上，在全体工作人员例行会议上，我说出了对他的忧虑。我向我的同事说明了我对他的印象，并且请他们多留意他，多抽点时间陪他。
The days I spend at camp each year fly by faster than any others I have known. Thus, before I knew it, mid-week had dissolved into the final night of camp, and I was chaperoning[34]the “last dance”. The students were doing all they could to savor every last moment with their new “best friends”—friends they would probably never see again.
每一年我在夏令营的日子，比我所知道的其他任何时候都要过得快。于是不知不觉，周三成为了此次夏令营的最后一夜，我陪伴着他们跳最后一支舞。学生们和新交的“挚友”——或许今后再也无法相见的朋友——尽情享受这最后时刻。
As I watched the campers share their parting moments, I suddenly saw what would be one of the most vivid memories of my life. The boy from under the tree, who had stared blankly out the kitchen window, was now a shirtless dancing wonder. He owned the dance floor as he and two girls proceeded to cut a rug. I watched as he shared meaningful, intimate time with people at whom he couldn’t even look just days earlier. I couldn’t believe it was the same person.
正当我看着队员们共享临别时刻时，我突然看见了生命中最动人的一幕：那个曾经茫然凝望着厨窗外的树下男孩，此时早已脱去外上衣，正在热情地舞蹈着。当他和两个女孩一起热舞时，他吸引了全场的目光。我看着他与人分享着意义深长又亲密无间的时光。可就在几天前，他甚至都不愿意看这些人一眼，我简直不敢相信这是同一个人。
In October of my sophomore year, a late-night phone call pulled me away from my chemistry book. A soft-spoken, unfamiliar voice asked politely, “Is Kevin there?”
大二那年10月的一个深夜，我放下手中的化学书，接了一个电话。听筒里传来一个陌生、温柔、彬彬有礼的声音：“您是凯文吗？”
“You’re talking to him, who’s this?”
“我是。请问哪位？”
“This is Tom Johnson’s mom. Do you remember Tommy from leadership camp?”
“我是汤姆·约翰逊的妈妈。您还记得参加过领导才能夏令营的汤米吗？”
The boy under the tree. How could I not remember?
那个树下男孩，我怎么会不记得呢？
“Yes, I do.” I said. “He’s a very nice young man. How is he?”
“当然，”我说，“他是个非常不错的年轻人。他还好吗？”
An abnormally long pause followed, then Mrs. Johnson said, “My Tommy was walking home from school this week when he was hit by a car and killed.” Shocked, I offered my condolences[35].
很长的停顿后，约翰逊夫人接着说：“这周我的汤米在回家的路上被车撞了，就那样走了。”我震惊极了，并请她节哀。
“I just wanted to call you,” she said, “because Tommy mentioned you so many times. I wanted you to know that he went back to school this fall with confidence. He made new friends. His grades went up. And he even went out on a few dates. I just wanted to thank you for making a difference for Tom. The last few months were the best few months of his life.”
“我只是想打个电话给你，”她说，“因为汤米曾多次向我提起你。我想让你知道，这个秋天，他信心满满地回到学校，结交了新朋友，学习成绩也提高了，甚至还和女孩子约会了几次。我想谢谢你，是你改变了汤姆。这最后几个月是他生命里最灿烂的时光。”
In that instant, I realized how easy it is to give a bit of yourself every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I tell this story as often as I can, and when I do, I urge others to look out for their own “boy under the tree”.
刹那间，我明白了：每天奉献一点点是件很容易的事，可你也许永远不会知道，每一个善意的小举动会给别人带来多大的影响。我无数次说起这个故事，我这么做就是为了让更多的人留意他们自己的那个“树下男孩”。
美丽语录
You make millions of decisions that mean nothing and then one day your order takes out and it changes your life.
你每天都在做很多看起来毫无意义的决定，但某天你的某个决定就能改变你的一生。
