一个指头

　　One Finger

　　“Mom， you should put some of your things away. Baby proof this house，” stated our oldest son Mark as he lumbered up the stairs followed by his wife， Kim， and fifteen－month－old Hannah.

　　Visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday， he finished unloading the luggage and took it to the guestroom downstairs. After driving all day from Salt Lake to Ft. Collins， his temper showed. “That one finger rule may work with the twins， but it'll never work with Hannah， ” he insisted.

　　一个指头

　　“妈妈，你应该把你的一些东西拿走。这屋里要防小孩捣乱，”我的大儿子马克一边爬楼梯一边说道，后面是他的妻子金和15个月大的汉娜。

　　马克一家是来过感恩节的，他把行李从车上卸下来，放到了楼下的客房里。因为从盐湖城到考林斯开了一整天的车，疲劳让他有些不耐烦。“一个手指的规则对于双胞胎可能管用，但对于汉娜是不会起作用的，”他坚持说道。

　　When my three granddaughters were born four months apart and the twins moved into our house at eight months， my close friend offered me her secret to entertaining grand－children with few mishaps. “Teach them the'one finger rule.'”All of her five grandchildren learned it at a young age. The success of the method surprised me.

　　I picked up my granddaughter and said， “Well， Mark， you just watch. ”I hugged her and walked all around the great room.

　　当我的3个孙女相隔4个月出生而且双胞胎姐妹在8个月大搬到我这里时，我的好友教给我如何哄孙子孙女玩又不让他们捣乱惹祸的一个有效秘诀。“教给他们'一个指头规则'”。她的5个孙子孙女很小就全都学会了这个规则。这一方法如此奏效，令我吃惊。

　　我接过孙女说：“好吧，马克，你就等着瞧吧。”我抱着她在宽敞的屋子里到处溜达。

　　“Hannah， you may touch anything in this room you want. But， you can only use one finger.”I demonstrated the technique by touching my forefinger to the African sculpture on the mantle. Hannah followed my example. “Good girl. Now what else would you like to touch？”

　　She stretched her finger toward another object on the mantle. I allowed her to touch everything in sight， plants， glass objects， TV， VCR， lamps， speakers， candles and artificial flowers. If she started to grab， I gently reminded her to use one finger. She always obeyed. But， Hannah， an only child， possessed a more adventur ous personality. Her father predicted it would prevent her from accepting the“one finger”rule.

　　“汉娜，你可以碰这屋里你想碰的任何东西。但是，你只能用一个指头。”我用大拇指碰了碰壁炉上的非洲雕塑，进行示范。汉娜学着我的样子做了一遍。“好孩子。现在，你还想摸什么？”

　　她伸出手指又去摸了摸壁炉上的另一件东西。我允许她摸所能看到的任何东西，植物、玻璃物品、电视机、录像机、灯、音箱、蜡烛以及人造花。如果她开始抓，我就轻声提醒她只能用一个手指。她总是很听话。但是，汉娜是一个独生女，性格中更富有冒险精神。她父亲预料这种冒险精神会使她不接受“一个手指”的规则。

　　During their four－day stay， we aided Hannah in remembering“one finger”rule. She learned quickly. I only put away the things that might prove to be a danger to a child. Otherwise， we watched her closely and nothing appeared to suffer any damage. Besides， “things”can be replaced.

　　A few fingerprints on glass doors， windows and tables remained after Hannah and her family returned home. I couldn't bring myself to clean them for days. Each one reminded me of some wonderful experience with Hannah.

　　他们在这儿住了4天，我们帮助汉娜记住“一个手指”的规则。她学得很快。我只是把可能对孩子造成危险的东西收了起来。我们非常小心不离她的身边，结果什么东西都没有损坏。再说，东西即便坏了，也是可以换新的嘛。

　　汉娜和爸爸妈妈回家后，在玻璃门、窗和桌子上留下了一些手指印。好几天，我不愿擦掉。每个手指印都能让我想起与汉娜一起度过的美好时光。

　　Months later， my husband and I drove to Salt Lake；I watched Mark and Kim continue to practice the one finger rule. But I refrained from saying， “I told you so. ” Yet， I smiled inwardly each time they prodded Hannah to touch with “one finger. ” Mark， a salesman， always gave a packet of gifts to his potential clients. The night before we returned home， Mark sat on the floor stuffing gifts into their packets. Hannah helped.

　　Then she picked up one gift， held it in her hand as if it were a fragile bird， and walked toward me. At my knee， her beautiful blue eyes looked into mine. She stretched her prize to me and said， “One finger， Nana！”

　　几个月后，我和我丈夫开车去盐湖城；我看到马克和金仍然继续使用一个手指的规则。可我没有说，“是我告诉你们的。”但是，我每次看到他们鼓励汉娜用“一个手指”摸东西的时候，会露出发自内心的微笑。马克是搞推销的，总是给那些潜在客户送礼品。我们回来前那天晚上，马克坐在地板上包礼物。汉娜给他帮忙。

　　这时她拿起一件礼物，放在手中，就像捧了一只脆弱的小鸟，向我走来。来到我的膝边她那双美丽的蓝眼睛盯着我。她把礼物伸向我，说，“只能用一个手指，奶奶！”

　　郝江鹂 译

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