海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第9期

One day, while I was playing with my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap also, spelled "d-o-l-l" and tried to make me understand that "d-o-l-l" applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle over the words "m-u-g" and "w-a-t-e-r." Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it upon me that "m-u-g" is mug and that "w-a-t-e-r" is water, but I persisted in confounding the two. In despair she had dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet. Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still, dark world in which I lived there was no strong sentiment or tenderness. I felt my teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort was removed. She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going out into the warm sunshine. This thought, if a wordless sensation may be called a thought, made me hop and skip with pleasure.

有一天，我正在和我的新布娃娃玩的時候，蘇立文小姐就把我的那個大破娃娃放在了我的膝蓋上，她教我拼寫“doll”，而且試圖使我明白，這兩個娃娃都叫“doll”。還有一次，我們在單詞“mug”和“water”之間爭得不可開交。蘇立文小姐極力向我強調“水杯是水杯，水是水”，可是我固執地把兩樣東西混爲一談。無奈之下，她不再同我爭辯，而是從頭開始教我。我對她翻來覆去的重複不勝厭煩，於是我一把抓過新娃娃，把它猛地摔在地上。我感覺到了娃娃在我腳下四分五裂，只覺得心裏十分痛快。既不悲傷，也不愧疚，我的情緒就那樣爆發了，我不再愛那個娃娃。顯然，在我生活的寂靜、黑暗的世界裏，是沒有強烈的柔情和關愛的。我感覺到我的老師把娃娃的殘肢掃到了壁爐旁邊。我的懊惱也隨之被移走了，我感到心滿意足。後來，老師拿來了我的帽子，我知道我要去外面曬太陽了。這樣的念頭——如果這種無聲的感覺能夠被稱作一個念頭的話，那麼它會令我感到歡欣鼓舞。

We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten--a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away.*

我們走在通往大房子的路上，金銀花的芬芳令人心曠神怡。有人開始壓水，我的老師則把我的手放在了水管邊上。當一股清冽的水流噴涌到我的一隻手上時，她就在我的另一隻手上拼寫“water”這個詞，起初是慢慢地，後來變得飛快。驀然間，我感覺到一種被遺忘了的朦朧意識——或者說，一種沉睡意識的迴歸和覺醒；神祕的語言世界展現在我面前。於是我知道了“water”的意思是奇妙而涼爽的東西從我的手上流過。這個具有生命力的詞語喚醒了我的靈魂，它帶給了我光明、希望、歡樂，將我置於一個無限自由的空間！雖然感官的藩籬依然存在，但是藩籬必將會被及時地清理乾淨。

I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.

我離開了大房子，極其渴望瞭解更廣闊的世界。對我而言，每一樣東西都有一個名字，每一個名字都是一種新思想的誕生。當我們回到家裏，我碰到的每一件物體似乎都對我的生命產生了觸動。這是因爲我以一種陌生而新奇的眼光來看待這些東西。進門的時候，我想起了那個被我摔壞的洋娃娃。我摸索着走到壁爐前，蹲在地上撿起了娃娃的碎片。我徒勞地想把它們拼湊在一起，我的眼裏噙滿了淚水，因爲我意識到了自己的所作所爲，有生以來第一次，我感到既懊悔又傷心。

I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them--words that were to make the world blossom for me, "like Aaron's rod, with flowers." It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come.

那天，我學習了大量的新詞彙。雖然已經記不全了，但是有幾個詞我永遠都不會忘記——“母親，父親，姐妹，老師”——這些詞語把我帶進了一個繽紛的世界，“就像亞倫的魔杖，一揮之下，遍生花叢”。不妨說，你很難找到一個像我這般快樂的小孩。在具有意義的那一天結束之時，我躺在自己的兒童牀裏。它把我帶進了喜悅的生活之中，我第一次迫不及待地期盼着新的一天的來臨。