双语散文： 紫丁香的回忆 The Remembrance of Lilacs

the family had just moved to rhode island，and the young woman was feeling a little melancholy on that sunday in may. after all，it was mother's day--and 800 miles separated her from her parents in ohio.

一家人刚移居罗德岛。5月的那个星期天，年轻女人感到有点儿忧伤。毕竟，这一天是母亲节─而她却与俄亥俄州的父母亲遥距800英里。

she had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy mother's day，and her mother had mentioned how colorful the yard was now that spring had arrived. as they talked，the younger woman could almost smell the tantalizing aroma of purple lilacs hanging on the big bush outside her parents'back door.

她那天早上给母亲打去电话，祝母亲节日愉快。随后，她的母亲向她提起，因为春天已经来临，所以院子里的色彩是多么绚丽。在她们通话的当儿，年轻女人几乎可以闻到悬垂在父母亲后门外大灌木丛上的紫丁香醉人的芬芳。

later，when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs，he popped up from his chair. "i know where we can find you all you want，"he said. "get the kids and c'mon. "

后来，她向丈夫说起她是如何怀念那些紫丁香时，他突然从椅子上跃起。"我知道在哪儿能找到你想要的东西，"他说，"带上孩子，走吧。"

so off they went，driving the country roads of northern rhode island on the kind of day only mid－may can produce：sparkling sunshine，unclouded azure skies and vibrant newness of the green growing all around. they went past small villages and burgeoning housing developments，past abandoned apple orchards，back to where trees and brush have devoured old homesteads.11:33 2009-5-13www.ryedu.net

于是，他们就出发了，驱车行驶在罗德岛北部的乡村小路上，那种天气只有５月中旬才会有：闪亮的阳光、蔚蓝色的晴空以及生机勃勃、随处可见的绿意。他们穿过一座座小村庄和一座座拔地而起的房屋，穿过废弃的苹果园，来到了树林和灌木丛掩映的老农场。

where they stopped，dense thickets of cedars and ju nipers and birch crowded the roadway on both sides. there wasn't a lilac bush in sight.

他们停下车。车道两边长满了茂盛的雪松、杜松和白桦树。眼前没有一棵紫丁香。

"come with me，"the man said. "over that hill is an old cellar hole，from somebody's farm of years ago，and there are lilacs all round it. the man who owns this land said i could poke around here anytime. i'm sure he won't mind if we pick a few lilacs. "

"随我来，"那个男人说，"翻过那座小山，有个老地窖，几年前是一个人的农场，四周长满了紫丁香。这块地的主人说我可以随时到这儿来闲逛。我相信，要是我们采几束紫丁香，他不会介意。"

before they got halfway up the hill，the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them，and the kids started running. soon，the mother began running，too，until she reached the top.

还没等他们到达半山腰，紫丁香的芬芳已经向他们飘了过来。于是，孩子们开始奔跑。不久，那位母亲也开始跑起来，直至到达山顶。

there，far from view of passing motorists and hidden from encroaching civilization，were the towering lilacs bushes，so laden with the huge，cone-shaped flower clusters that they almost bent double. with a smile，the young woman rushed up to the nearest bush and buried her face in the flowers，drinking in the fragrance and the memories it recalled.

那里，远离了过往司机的视野，避开了纷扰的文明世界，高耸的丁香花丛开满了硕大的圆锥形的串串花束，几乎把花茎压成了两折。那个年轻女人微笑着冲到最近的一处花丛，把脸埋在鲜花中，啜饮着芳香，陶醉在重新唤起的记忆中。

　while the man examined the cellar hole and tried to explain to the children what the house must have looked like，the woman drifted among the lilacs. carefully，she chose a sprig here，another one there，and clipped them with her husband's pocket knife. she was in no hurry，relishing each blossom as a rare and delicate treasure.