茶壺

There was a proud tea-pot， proud of its porcelain， proud of its long spout， proud of its broad handle; it had something both before and behind， the spout before and the handle behind， and it talked about it; but it did not talk about its lid; that was cracked， it was riveted， it had a defect， and one does not willingly talk of one's defects; others do that sufficiently. The cups， the cream-pot， and the sugar-basin， the whole of the tea-service would remember more about the frailty of the lid and talk about it， than about the good handle and the splendid spout; the tea-pot knew that.

\"I know them!\" it said to itself， \"I know also my defect and I admit it; therein lies my humility， my modesty; we all have defects， but one has also merits. The cups have a handle， the sugar-basin a lid， I have both of these and another thing besides， which they never have， I have a spout， and that makes me the queen of the tea-table. To the sugar-basin and the cream-pot it is granted to be the servants of sweet taste， but I am the giver， the ruler of all; I disseminate blessing among thirsty humanity; in my inside the Chinese leaves are prepared in the boiling， tasteless water.\"

The tea-pot said all thisinitsundaunted youth. It stood on the table laid for tea，andit was lifted by the finest hand; but the finest hand was clumsy， the tea-pot fell， the spout broke off， the handle broke off， the lid is not worth talking about， for enough has been said about it. The tea-pot lay in a faint on the floor; the boiling water ran out of it. That was a hard blow it got， and the hardest of all was that they laughed; they laughed at it， and not at the awkward hand.

\"I shall never get that experience out of my mind，\" said the tea-pot， when it afterwards related its career to itself， \"I was called an invalid and set in a corner， and the day after， presented to a woman who begged kitchen-refuse. I came down into poverty， stood speechless both out and in; but there， as I stood， my better life began; one is one thing， and becomes something quite different. Earth was put into me; for a tea-pot， that is the same as to be buried， but in the earth was put a bulb; who laid it there， who gave it， I know not， but given it was， a compensation for the Chinese leaves and the boiling water， a compensation for the broken-off handle and spout. And the bulb lay in the earth， the bulb lay in me， it became my heart， my living heart， and such a thing I had never had before. There was life in me， there was strength and vigour. The pulse beat， the bulb spr-

outed， it was bursting with thoughts and feelings; then it broke out in flower; I saw it， I carried it， I forgot myself in its loveliness; it is a blessed thing to forget oneself in others!It did not thank me; it did not think about me; it was admired and praised. I was so glad about it; how glad must it have been then!One day I heard it said that it deserved a better pot. They broke me through the middle; it was frightfully painful; but the flower was put in a better pot， and I was thrown out into the yard; I lie there like an old potsherd，--but I have the remembrance， that I cannot lose.\"

從前，有一個(gè)驕傲的茶壺。它為自己是瓷器而驕傲，為自己的長(zhǎng)壺嘴而驕傲，為自己的寬把手而驕傲。它的前面后面都有東西，前面是壺嘴，后面是把手，它對(duì)此自吹自擂。但它從不提及它的蓋子，因?yàn)樗?jīng)破過(guò)，又被釘好了，所以是個(gè)缺陷。誰(shuí)都不愿意談自己的缺陷，但別人總愛(ài)拿缺陷做文章。茶杯，奶油罐子，還有糖碗，所有的茶具都記得壺蓋子的缺點(diǎn)，老是談?wù)撍?，比談那個(gè)好把手和漂亮的壺嘴談得還要多。茶壺明白這事兒。

“我認(rèn)識(shí)它們!”他自言自語(yǔ)道，“我也知道我的缺陷，我自己也承認(rèn)。這正說(shuō)明我的謙虛，我的樸實(shí)。我們大家都有缺陷，但也都有優(yōu)點(diǎn)。茶杯有個(gè)把手，糖碗有個(gè)蓋子，但我不僅有這些，我還有一件別的東西，是它們永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)的，那就是我有壺嘴兒。正是它讓我成為桌上的王后。至于糖碗和奶油罐子，它們被命名為美味的仆人，而我就是那任命的人，所有這類(lèi)東西的統(tǒng)治者。我把幸福分給干渴的人們。在我的體內(nèi)，中國(guó)的茶葉泡在了白開(kāi)水里?！?/p>

上面這些話(huà)，都是茶壺在他英勇無(wú)畏的年輕時(shí)代說(shuō)的。它坐在茶幾上，被最美的手揭開(kāi)蓋子。但那只美麗的手很笨拙，茶壺摔了下去。壺嘴斷了，把手折了，蓋子就甭提了，因?yàn)榇蠹艺務(wù)摰靡呀?jīng)太多。茶壺昏倒在地上，開(kāi)水流了出來(lái)。那對(duì)它是一次巨大的打擊，最糟糕的是大家都取笑它。它們笑的是茶壺，而不是那只笨拙的手。

“我永遠(yuǎn)忘不了那次經(jīng)歷，”茶壺后來(lái)總結(jié)自己的經(jīng)歷時(shí)說(shuō)，“我被叫作廢物，丟在一個(gè)角落里。第二天，我被送給一個(gè)要廚房剩飯吃的婦女。我落入了貧困之中，站在那里，里外都一言不發(fā)。但在我站在那兒的時(shí)候，更好的生活卻開(kāi)始了。真是此一時(shí)，彼一時(shí)呀。我被灌進(jìn)了土，對(duì)于茶壺來(lái)說(shuō)，這就相當(dāng)于被埋葬。但土里卻有個(gè)花根，到底是誰(shuí)放的，誰(shuí)給的，我都不知道。但既然把它放進(jìn)去了，那就當(dāng)是對(duì)灑了的中國(guó)茶葉和開(kāi)水的補(bǔ)償，也算是對(duì)摔斷的把手和壺嘴的補(bǔ)償吧?；ǜ裨谕晾?，埋在我的身體里。它成了我的心臟，我的活的心臟，我從沒(méi)有過(guò)這種東西。我體內(nèi)有了生命，有了力量和精神。我的脈搏在跳動(dòng)，花根發(fā)了出來(lái)，它煥發(fā)出思想和感情。然后，它在花朵上綻放出來(lái)。我看到它了，我支撐著它，在它的美麗可愛(ài)中忘了自我。為了別人而忘掉自我，真是一件幸福的事情!它沒(méi)有感謝我，沒(méi)有想到我。它受到崇拜，受到贊揚(yáng)。我真為它感到高興，它是多么快活呀!一天，我聽(tīng)它說(shuō)，它應(yīng)該要個(gè)更好的花盆。它們攔腰把我給摔碎了，疼得真是可怕!花兒被放到了一個(gè)更好的花盆里，而我則被扔進(jìn)了院子里。我躺在那里，像一堆破瓦片兒——但我有美好的記憶，我忘不了。”