Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a water puddle ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go arou-nd it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack was so unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected. I was startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt, it was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

在佐治亚州，我沿着一条穿过几个树林的小径行走，发现前面路上有一个水坑。我转向路上没被水和泥覆盖的那部分，好绕过它。当我到达水坑的时候，我突然遭遇了袭击！但我置之不理，因为这种袭击如此不可预料，而且来自一个你完全想不到的袭击者。我很震惊，但没受伤，尽管我已经被连续袭击了四五次。我后退了一步，袭击者也停止了进攻。它不再进攻，而是在我面前扇动着优美的翅膀翩然起舞。要是我受了伤，我就不会觉得这可笑了，可是我没有受伤，这很好笑，我笑了起来。毕竟，我是被一只蝴蝶袭击了！



Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He rammed me in the chest with his head and body, striking me over and over again with all his might, still to no avail. For a second time, I retreated a step while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat a third time. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. This time, though, I stepped back several paces to look the situation over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a-mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where he landed.

止住笑声，我向前迈了一步。我的袭击者又冲向了我，用他的脑袋和身体撞击我的胸膛，一次又一次，竭尽全力却无济于事。我再一次后退了一步，同时，我的袭击者的攻击也减缓了。我再次尝试向前移动，我的袭击者也再次向我攻击。我的胸膛遭受了一次又一次的撞击，而我却不知道改怎么办，只好第三次向后退。毕竟，人不是每天都会被蝴蝶袭击的。然而这次，我后退了好几步来审视情况。我的袭击者也退了回去，落在地面上。正是此时我发现了我的袭击者片刻之前攻击我的原因。他有一个伴侣，她奄奄一息，就躺在他落下的泥坑旁边。



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Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to attack me for his mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. Now I knew why and what he was fighting for. There was really only one option left for me. I carefully made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was only inches wide and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.

他紧靠在她的旁边，翅膀一张一合，好像在替她扇扇子。我只能钦佩那只蝴蝶在对他的伴侣的关心中表现出爱和勇气。为了他的伴侣，他把袭击我的重任加在自己身上，即使她已明显接近死亡，而我又如此庞大。他这样做只是为了保住她生命中那额外的点滴珍贵时光，我真不该那么不小心以致差点踩到他。现在，我已知道他为何而战、为谁而战。我只有一个选择，我小心地绕到泥坑另一边的路上，虽然它只有几英寸宽而且相当泥泞。他为了伴侣的安全去攻击比他自己的身躯和体重大几千倍的对手，其中表现出的勇气证明了他有正当的理由。我帮不上什么忙，除了走泥坑更难走的一边来奖励他。他真的赢得了和她在一起的、那不被打扰的片刻。



I left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.

当走到车旁时，我把靴子上的泥擦干净我让他们安静地度过那点最后的时光。

Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge obstacles facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.

此后，每当我遇到巨大的障碍，我都会努力想起那只蝴蝶的勇气。我把他的勇气当成一种鼓舞，并提醒自己，好的东西是值得为之奋斗的。

最后由 阿山子 于 2007-01-30 09:29 编辑


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