告诉我什么是爱（二）

　　After a while, the road ame narrower and steeper．Ever narrower, it was ever more difficult to climb, and Faldan started to feel very tired．He came to a point where there was no more road to follow, and before him he could see nothing but a thick, steep forest．As he kept climbing, the air around him w colder and colder, and his breath merged with the white mists around him．Every now and then, peeking through a hole in the trees'foliage, he could see that the top of the mountain was still very far away from him．He thought, "It's very strange, for years I have been a knight, I have crossed rivers and ranges of mountains, but I have never felt so tired as I feel today．What can it be？"

　　　　 With an effort, he reached a small spot near a cliff, where he sat on a rock to rest．The landscape which appeared before his eyes was magnificent：the whole valley and the wheat fields seemed almost unreal, seen through the cold mists that floated in these heights．The question with which he left his castle was present in his heart．He decided to ask the mountain："Can you tell me something about love？" To his at surprise, the mountain answered．Its voice was deep and grave, and it came to him mixed with the echo of his own words．"Traveller, you seem lost in the middle of your journey．I can give you some advice．" "Listen carefully" , the mountain said, "I will let you know something about me．" "I have been here for a very long time．A time so long that you cannot imagine, and which cannot be expressed in human terms．Yes, I have always been here．And others before you have come to climb me．But coming to me is a very difficult enterprise．Those who have conquered the summit have first conquered thelves．Yes, what they conquer is their own weakness, and not my height．Some, like you, see me here and they feel the desire to climb．But they come to me without preparation．And like you, they fail．"

　　　　 "Some come back to me again and again, but each time I show them their mistake．They have not prepared。And they fail again．But those who reach the top．Ah。What a wonderful scene they contemplate from the heights。This I tell to you, Traveller：what they see is so beautiful, that it cannot be described with your limited words．No one will be able to describe it for you．You have to see it for your self．But not today．"Go。And come back one day．" As he went down the mountain, the Southern Knight still heard the voice of the mountain saying："You may think I am cruel．But I am nothing but a test．" Now he had two answers．He knew that both of them were correct, but they were quite different：one was Waiting, and the other was Preparing for a test．How could he find the true answer？Perhaps by mixing these two？As he thought about this matter, he kept walking for a long time until he arrived to a field of sunflowers．

　　　　 Walking slowly, he came close to a big sunflower which towered above the others．He said to hilf, "Could it be that this flower could also tell me something？" The sunflower said, "Yes, I can tell you something．" The flower seemed to notice his astonishment, so she said："What is so surprising？Don't you already know that we all can talk？But words are sometimes an obstacle, and the heart is clearer than the tongue．" "Look at the sun。He gives me life and in return, he asks me for nothing．We are very far apart from each other, but we are always together．Look at me。I even look a little like him, don't you ae？Each day, I turn my face to the sun．From morning till night I follow him with my eyes．But he goes on in his journey, he gives me life and does not want me to be his．Neither I want him to be only for me．We are both free of desire．Also look, my life is short．In fact, in a few days my petals will all fall, as if I were crying them to the earth．And when all my petals lie on the ground, then the sun will burn them to ashes．"

　　　　 "I'm sorry" , the knight said in an impulse．The sunflower chuckled quietly, amused at the man's words"You are sorry？Why？It is only natural for that to hap pen．The same will happen to all the sunflowers in this field．But see this also：my seeds fall to the ground just as my petals do, and from there, new sunflowers will grow．And they will also follow the sun with their sunfaces．It will be like that, and the sun will keep on giving them life．"

　　　　 The Southern Knight stayed there, watching the sunflower as she waved goodbye．He smiled．"Thank you" , he said to the sunflower, before resuming his march．

　　　　 He kept thinking of how gentle the sunflower was, so different from the stern and harsh mountain, so different from the slow tortoise．Now the answer to his question turned more complex：he realized that each of them was right in their own way, according to their own essence．But how to put their answers together and find an answer according to his own essence？It seemed not an easy task．（To be con tinued）

　　过了一会儿, 路变得又窄又陡。越走越窄, 也更难往上爬, 福达开始感到很疲惫。他爬上一处无路可走的地点, 眼前只有茂密的森林和陡峭的山坡。他接着往上爬, 周围的空气越来越冷, 他的呼吸都带着白色的水汽, 围绕在身旁, 透过树叶的缝隙, 他时不时地看到山顶依然很遥远。他自忖, "真是怪事, 多年来身为骑士, 我跋山涉水无数, 但从来没觉得像今天这么累。这是怎么回事呢？"

　　　　努了一把力, 他登上靠近悬崖的一小块空地, 坐在石头上歇脚。眼前的景色却很迷人：从飘浮在山腰那寒冷的雾气中俯视, 整个山谷和麦田恍似仙境。他离开城堡时所存的疑惑涌上心头。他问大山："你能告诉我什么是爱吗？" 令他大为惊讶的是, 大山回答了, 它的声音低沉而浑厚, 混合着他自己的回声, 耳边听到大山的话："旅行者, 看来你在旅途中迷失了方向, 我可以给你点建议。" "仔细听好了, " 大山说, "我告诉你一些我的事儿。我矗立在这儿已很久了, 时间久到你无法想象, 也不是人类的尺度能衡量的。是的, 我一直都在这儿, 在你之前, 别人也曾爬过这山, 来我这儿攀登是件难事。成功攀到顶峰的人, 首先得征服自身。是的, 他们征服的是自己的懦弱, 而非我的高度。有些人, 如你一样, 看到我矗立在这儿, 就感到攀登的冲动, 但他们之前并未做好准备。也如你一样, 他们铩羽而归。"

　　　　"有些人一次又一次地回来攀登, 但每次我都让他们知难而退。他们没有准备好, 所以又失败了。但那些成功登上峰顶的人, 啊！从高处看到的风景多么美啊！旅行者, 我告诉你：他们看到的景色是那么美, 美到无法用你们有限的形容。也没人能为你描绘出来, 你得亲自去看, 但不是今天。" "回去吧！改日再来。" 当南王转身下山时, 他仍听到大山的话："你或许认为我不近人情, 但我只是个考验。" 现在, 他有两个答案了, 他知道哪个都对, 但又各不相同：一个是等待, 另一个是准备接受考验。他怎么才能找到正确答案呢？或许把两个答案糅在一起？他一边思索着, 一边继续前行, 过了好长一段时间, 他来到一片向日葵地边。

　　　　他慢慢走近一朵大向日葵花, 它比别的花都高出一头。他自言自语着："这朵花也能告诉我点什么吗？" 向日葵答话了："是的, 我能告诉你一些事情。" 那花似乎注意到他的惊愕, 因而说："这有什么好惊奇的？你不是早知道世上万物都能说话了吗？但言语有时是个障碍, 而心灵比语言更明白。" "看那太阳！他赋予我生命, 但不要任何回报。我们距离如此遥远, 但又总是并存于世。瞧我！我甚至看起来都有点像他, 你不这么认为吗？每天, 我都把脸转向太阳, 从早到晚, 我用目光追随着他。但他按自己的行程运行着, 他赋予我生命, 却不想把我据为己有。我也不想独占他。我们都没这要求。还有, 我的生命短暂, 几天功夫, 我的花瓣就掉光了, 仿佛我使它们掉到地上。而当所有花瓣着地, 太阳就会把它们烧成灰。"

　　　　骑士很有感触地说："我很难过。" 向日葵被他的话逗得咯咯暗笑。"你难过？为什么？这是很自然的事情, 这片原野上所有的花都会这样。但要注意这一点：我的种子也会像花瓣那样落到地上。从种子落下的地方, 又会长出新的向日葵, 她们也会转动自己的花盘追随着太阳。就像那样, 而且太阳会一如既往地赋予她们生命。"

　　　　南王站在那儿, 望着向日葵向他挥手告别。他微笑着对那朵向日葵说："谢谢你。" 然后又踏上旅程。

　　　　他一直想着那朵向日葵花是多么轻柔, 完全不同于大山的严酷和冷峻, 也有别于那只慢吞吞的乌龟。而今, 他那问题的答案变得更复杂了：他知道每个答案依其本质, 在它那点上都是正确的。但怎样才能把它们的答案合在一起, 并按自己的本义找出所求的答案呢？这看来不是件容易的事。（待续）