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《风筝的传说》
The Tale of a Kite
It was the perfect day to fly a kite. The sun was warm. The breeze was right. The air was fresh with the sweet perfume of flowering trees in springtime bloom. After the long, boring winter, kites everywhere couldn’t wait for the chance to go dance in the air. To summersault ) freely. To zigzag ) the sun. Every kite was excited. Well, all kites but one.
In the back of a closet, looking haggard ) and thin ) fretted ) one lonely kite that preferred to stay in. He was diamond in shape, half red and half white, with a bowtie ) rag tail, meant to steady his flight. His lines were so classic you may think with a sigh that you’ve seen him before in some childhood sky. But he didn’t like flying. Well, that isn’t quite right—It wasn’t the flying so much as the height.
You see, the higher the flight, the further the fall. It was that which scared the kite most of all. From the park nearby echoed laughter and joy. The kite knew it wouldn’t be long ‘till his boy would burst into the closet to cart ) him away for another embarrassing public display. They would head for the park with the other fanatics ) in search of the perfect kite aerobatics ).
The boy would start running. The string would unwind. And the kite, he would tumble ) on the hard ground behind. At that very moment, as his thought was complete, the closet door opened. The kite shrunk in defeat.
“Come on,” said the boy, “It’s the perfect kite day.” And the boy and the kite headed outside to play. As they came to the park there were kids everywhere flying kites that sailed gracefully high in the air. The boy pointed up, “Look, flying is easy!” With dread the kite looked, it made him feel queasy ), although the spring breezes were heartily blowing.
The boy started running to get the kite going. He ran all through the park while other kids gaped ) at his kite that dragged … and tumbled … and scraped ). He heard a boy laugh and another one joke, “That kite must either be stupid or broke.” The boy hung his head and went back to his kite. Kneeling, he thoughtfully asked, “You alright?” The kite seemed to be no worse for the wear, even though he had not so much as caught air.
“Why don’t you fly?” The boy’s tone was staid ). “Don’t you know how?” he asked. “Are you afraid?” With all of his pride, the kite tried to contest it, but the look in his eyes told the boy he had guessed it.
They sat in silence a moment, the boy and the kite. Then with a kind smile, the boy said, “It’s alright. Everyone gets frightened. Dad says that’s okay. And by facing fears boldly we can scare some away. That’s how it was with me and my bike. Maybe biking and flying are a little alike.” The glimmer ) of hope that shone in the boy’s eye made the kite decide to give flying a try.
The boy started running to give the kite lift. The wind on the kite was at once brisk and swift. Instead of fighting the wind he gave himself to it. As it carried him upward, he knew he could do it.
At first he was careful not to look down. Then he got up his nerve. He could see the whole town! With exhilaration ) he felt his heart soar. So he yelled to the boy, “Give more string, please. More!” Mustering courage, his jaw tight and square, he made a great loop-da-loop ) in the air. Every child was squinting ) to watch that kite sail—now a glistening speck ) with a bowtie rag tail.
With his head in the clouds, the kite felt quite grand until remembering he still didn’t know how to land. But instead of locking in panic, he let his fear go. The kite took a deep breathe, and said, “On with the show!” Then giving himself once again to the breeze, he lost elevation, just sure as you please. Surfing the breezes eventually brought him back to the park where an elated ) boy caught him.
The kite felt peaceful and blissful and new, and he wanted his boy to feel all of it too. So without hesitation, he said, “Hold on tight!” And they took off together, the boy and the kite. They floated, they glided, they hung in the sky. They waved at startled birds flying by. Higher than treetops and rooftops they flew, and the higher they went, the greater the view.
They saw so many parks in the town down below, and so many kites with children in tow. And every so often they were touched by the sight of a hopeful child dragging a scared, earthbound kite. When the boy and kite landed they were met with wild cheers.
Their story became legend; it was told so many years. The legend ends with the lessons the kite learned that day that facing fears boldly can scare some away. To succeed at new things, you must be willing to grow. That means not holding back. It means letting go.
那是个放风筝的好天气。太阳暖烘烘的，风也刚刚好，正值春日花期，空气中弥漫着开花树木的甜香，无比清新。在渡过了漫长又百无聊赖的冬天之后，各处的风筝都等不及在空中翩跶起舞的机会，要自由自在地翻筋斗，要呈之字形向太阳靠近。每只风筝都很兴奋。唔，有一只例外。
在一个柜子深处，有一只孤零零的风筝看起来有点憔悴且消瘦，它烦躁不安宁愿留在柜子里。他的外形呈菱形，一半红色一半白色，下面有一个布做的蝴蝶结形状的尾巴帮助他在飞行时保持平衡。他的轮廓线那么经典，你可能会心生感叹，觉得儿时曾在天空中见过他。但是这只风筝不喜欢飞行。哦，这么说也不全对——困扰着他的并不是飞这件事，而是高度的问题。
你看，飞得越高，摔得就越远。就是这一点最让这只风筝感到害怕。附近的公园里回荡着大笑声和欢叫声。
风筝知道很快他的男孩主人就会冲到柜子里，拽他出去，开始另一场让人窘迫的公开表演。他们将和其他疯小孩一起去公园，尝试找出最完美的风筝飞行特技。到时男孩会跑起来，风筝线会逐渐展开，而风筝呢，会在男孩身后坚硬的地上翻滚。就在那个时刻，当他刚刚想完这些，柜门打开了。风筝毫无斗志，蜷缩起身体。
“来吧，”男孩说，“今天是放风筝的好日子。”男孩带着风筝出去玩了。等他们到了公园，那里已经到处是放风筝的孩子，他们的风筝都优雅地在空中飞得很高。男孩指着天空：“看，飞起来一点都不难！”风筝害怕地向上看去，他觉得很不舒服，尽管春风吹得很起劲儿。
男孩开始跑起来，好让风筝做好起飞的准备。他跑着穿越整个公园，其他孩子目瞪口呆地看着他的风筝被拖着……翻滚……在地上蹭来蹭去。他听到一个男孩大笑，另一个男孩开玩笑说：“那个风筝肯定不是傻的就是坏的。”男孩垂下头，走回他的风筝旁，跪在地上，关切地问道：“你还好吗？”风筝看起来没有受到什么损伤，虽然他还没缓过劲来。
“你为什么不飞起来呢？”男孩的语气很沉稳。“你不知道怎么飞吗？”他问。“你是害怕吗？”风筝带着自己所有的骄傲想要反驳男孩，但他的眼神告诉男孩，男孩猜对了。
男孩和风筝安静地坐了一会儿，然后男孩带着亲切的笑容说：“没关系。每个人都会害怕。爸爸说这没什么。勇敢面对恐惧可以吓跑我们的一些恐惧。我和我的自行车就是这样。也许骑自行车和飞也有那么一点相像。”男孩眼睛里闪烁的一丝希望的光芒让风筝决定再试着飞一下。
男孩开始奔跑，好给风筝起飞一些助力。吹到风筝身上的风立刻变得又快又猛。这次风筝没有再同这风对抗，而是任凭自己让风摆布。随着风把他向上抬起，他知道自己能做到。
开始时，他很小心地不向下看。但接着他鼓起了勇气，他可以看到整个城镇！他情绪高涨，觉得自己的心都要飞起来了。于是他冲男孩大喊：“再放点线，拜托，多放点线！”他鼓足勇气，绷紧下颌，在空中翻了个大筋斗。每个孩子都眯眼看着风筝在空中滑行——现在只能看到一个带着蝴蝶结布尾巴的发光小点。随着风筝的头升入云端，他感觉妙极了，直到他想起来自己还不知道怎么着陆。不过他没有陷入恐慌，而是努力忘记恐惧。他深吸口气，说：“好戏继续！”然后再一次把自己全部交给风，正如我们所想的， 他飞行高度下降。他随风滑翔，最后回到了公园，在那里，那个男孩兴高采烈地抓住了他。
风筝觉得平静、快乐，焕然一新，他想让男孩也来分享他的感受。所以他毫不犹豫地大喊:“抓紧了！”男孩和风筝一起飞了起来。他们在空中悬停，漂浮、滑翔，向从他们身旁掠过的那些受到惊吓的鸟儿挥手。他们越飞越高，超过了树冠。越过了屋顶，他们飞得越高，看到的景色就越美。他们看到下面城镇上有那么多公园，有那么多被孩子牵着的风筝。他们偶尔还会看到一个满怀希望的孩子拖着一只满心害怕怎么也不肯离开地面的风筝，这样的画面总是让他们觉得感动。当男孩和风筝落地后，迎接他们的是热烈的喝彩声。
他们的故事变成了传说，流传了很多年。这个传说的结尾是风筝在那天明白的道理——勇敢面对恐惧可以把我们的一些恐惧吓跑。想要让新的尝试成功，你必须愿意成长。那就意味着不退缩，意味着放手一搏。
文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2017年5月号
