良善之舉

Fiona

英語中有句諺語，“Present rose to others with remaining fragrance at hand”，翻譯過來，即為人們常說的“送人玫瑰，手有余香”。充滿善意的舉動，哪怕只是一個微笑，也能溫暖他人、照亮內心。

本期美文閣精選了三個小故事：《微笑》《良善之舉》與《真正的男子氣概》。《微笑》中，喬治燦爛的笑容，點亮小女孩珍妮灰暗的一天；《良善之舉》里的兩個善良的小男孩，為街邊遇到的陌生人伸出援手，分擔重物；《真正的男子氣概》一文中的小英雄弗雷德，臨危不懼，果敢地從火海中救出小女孩。這些故事的主人公有一個共同特點：擁有一顆善良的心，并在幫助他人的同時，收獲內心的成長與喜悅。

Poor lame Jennie sat at her window， looking out upon the dismal， narrow street， with a look of pain and weariness on her face. “Oh， dear，” she said with a sigh， “what a long day this is going to be.” and she looked wishfully up the street.

Suddenly she leaned forward and pressed her pale face against the glass， as a rosy-checked boy came racing down the street， swinging his schoolbooks by the strap. Looking up to the window， he took off his hat and bowed with a bright， pleasant smile.

“What a nice boy he is，” said Jennie to herself， as he ran out of sight. “I am so glad he passes by here on his way to school1. When he smiles， its radiant like the sun shine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up and smile.”

“Mama，” said George West， as he came from school， “I cant help thinking about that poor little girl I told you of the other day. She looks so tired. I took off my hat and bowed to her today. I wish I could do something for her.”

“Suppose you should carry her a handful of2 pretty flowers some time when you go to school，”said Mrs. West. “Ill do that tomorrow morning，”said George， “if I can find my way into that rickety old house.”

The next morning， as Jennie sat leaning her head wearily against the window， watching the raindrops chasing one another down the glass， she spied George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window， and， smiling very pleasantly， said， “How shall I find the way to your room？”

Jennie pointed to an alley nearby， where he turned in， and with some difficulty found his way to the dingy staircase. Opening the door to Jennies gentle “Come in” invitation， he said， “I have brought you a handful of flowers to look at on this rainy day.”

“Are they for me？” inquired Jennie， clapping her hands in delight. “How kind you are.” she continued， as George laid them in her lap， “I have not had a flower since weve moved to the city.”

“Did you use to live in the country？” asked George.

“Oh， yes，” answered Jennie， “we used to live in a beautiful cottage， and there were trees and flowers and green grass， and the air was so sweet.”

“Well， what made you move here？”

“Oh，” said Jennie， softly， “papa died， and mama was sick for so long that the money was all gone. Then mama had to sell the cottage， and she moved here to try to get work to do.”

“Do you have to sit here all day？” asked George， glancing around the bare room and out into the dismal street. “Yes，” said Jennie， “because I am lame， but I would not care for that， if I could only help mama.”

“I declare， its too hard！” said George， who dreaded nothing so much as being obliged to stay in the house. “Oh， no， it isnt，” said Jennie， pleasantly， “mama says maybe we should forget the Lord if we had everything we wanted， and He never forgets us， you know.”

“Well，I must rush for school，” said George，not knowing exactly what to say next， and he was soon out of Jennies sight， but had a happy little corner in his heart， because he had tried to do3 a kind act. He did not know how much good he had done in making a pleasant day out of a dreary4 one for a little sick girl.

“Mama，” said George， that evening， after he had told her what Jennie said， “papa must give them some money， so they can go back to their home.”

“No，” said his mother， “he can not do that， and they would not wish him t o d o s o ， b u t perhaps he can help us contrive s o m e w a y t o assist them， so that they can live more comfortably.”

“I am going to carry Jennie some of the grapes grandpa sent me， tomorrow.” said George， turning over the leaves of his geography book. “I will put some of my pears into your basket， and go with you，” said his mother， “but there is one thing we can always give， and sometimes it does more good than nice things to eat， or even money.”

“What is that， mama， smiles？” asked George， looking up. “Yes，” answered his mother， “and it is a good plan to throw in a kind word or two with them when you can.”

天空陰沉沉的，珍妮無法起身，只能又一次坐在窗前，望著窗外狹窄的街道，臉上流露出痛苦和疲倦?！芭?，天啊，”她嘆了一口氣說，“這將是漫長的一天?！闭f完，她滿懷渴望地朝街道另一端望去。

當一個穿著玫瑰色格子衣服的男孩跑過這條街時，珍妮突然傾身向前將那張蒼白的臉貼在玻璃上。男孩擺動著他用繩帶捆起來的課本，脫下他的帽子，向珍妮鞠了一躬，臉上露出明亮、愉快的笑容。

“多好的男孩??！”男孩走遠以后，珍妮想，“他在去學校的路上要經過這里令我高興。他的微笑像太陽一樣，照進我的內心。真希望每個經過這里的人都能抬起頭，笑一笑?！?/p>

“媽媽，”喬治放學回到家里說，“我不是經常對您說那個待在窗前的小姑娘嗎？她看起來很疲憊。我今天脫下帽子向她鞠躬了，我想再為她做點什么?！?/p>

“你可以給她帶上一束漂亮的花?！眿寢屨f道。“如果我能找到那棟房子的入口的話，明天我就送去?！眴讨位卮稹?/p>

第二天早上，珍妮靠著窗邊，百無聊賴地看著雨一滴一滴沿著玻璃滑落。這時，她瞥見喬治拿著一束美麗的鮮花從街對面走來。走到她的窗前，喬治停了下來，微笑著說：“我怎么才能進入你的房間？”

珍妮用手指向不遠處的小過道，喬治頗費了些力氣才找到樓梯入口。他聽見珍妮輕輕地說：“請進?！眴讨未蜷_門說：“我給你帶來一束花，下雨天你可以看看它們?！?/p>

“給我的嗎？”珍妮高興地拍著手，“你真善良?！碑攩讨伟鸦ǚ旁谒南ドw上時，她繼續(xù)說：“自從我們搬進城里，我還沒有收到過花呢?！?/p>

“你以前一直住在鄉(xiāng)下嗎？”喬治問道。

“哦，是的，”珍妮回答說，“我們以前的房子很大很漂亮，那兒有樹木、鮮花和綠草，空氣很新鮮?！?/p>

“那為什么要搬來這里？”喬治問道。

珍妮輕聲說：“爸爸去世了，媽媽又久病不起，花光了積蓄。媽媽不得不賣掉別墅，搬到這里找點事做?！?/p>

喬治環(huán)顧了一眼空蕩蕩的房間，又向窗外的街道望了望說：“你整天都坐在這里嗎？”“嗯，”珍妮說，“因為我的腿有點瘸，但如果我能幫助媽媽，我一點都不在乎這個?！?/p>

“我只能說這太糟糕了！”喬治想到自己不能在這里久待。“不，還沒有那么糟糕，”珍妮說，“媽媽說過，當我們得到想要的一切時，可能會將上帝遺忘，但你知道，他從來不會拋棄我們?！?/p>

“好吧，我得趕緊去學校了?！眴讨谓忉?，然后不知該說什么。喬治很快從珍妮的視線中消失。在內心的某個角落，喬治仍舊覺得快樂，因為他在試著幫助別人。他并不知道自己已經把一個生病小女孩沉悶的一天變得愉快。

那天晚上，喬治把珍妮的事情告訴了媽媽，然后說道：“媽媽，讓爸爸給她們一些錢吧，這樣她們就可以回自己的家了。”

“不行，”媽媽說道，“你爸爸不會同意我們這么做的，她們也不希望我們這樣做，但也許可以找到別的方法來幫助她們，這樣她們就可以生活得更舒適一些。”

“明天我要帶給珍妮一些爺爺送給我的葡萄?！眴讨芜叿乩頃呎f?！拔液湍阋黄鹑?，再帶上一些梨，”媽媽說，“我們還必須帶一件東西，這樣東西比好吃的更重要，甚至比金錢都重要?！?/p>

“那是什么， 媽媽？是微笑嗎？”喬治抬頭問道?！笆堑?，”媽媽回答說，“微笑的同時如果能附上兩句貼心的話語，那就再好不過了?！?/p>