The Language of the Heart　心靈的語(yǔ)言

The Language of the Heart　心靈的語(yǔ)言

◎ Maureen Fredrickson

Soapy Smith is a twenty-four-pound calico rex rabbit. A rex rabbit’s coat lacks the stiff guard hairs of other breeds, resulting in a fur texture that is as soft as a cloud. People look startled when they first touch him and remark how soft he is. I’ve noticed he seems to make everyone who meets him a little softer, too.

索比·史密斯是只24磅重的卷毛花兔。卷毛花兔沒(méi)有其他種類兔子的那種有防護(hù)作用的硬毛，它的毛柔軟得像一朵云彩。人們第—次觸摸索比時(shí)，都對(duì)它這么柔軟的皮毛震驚不已。我注意到，它似乎讓每一個(gè)見了它的人也變得柔和起來(lái)。

One day, Soapy Smith and I visited a shelter for battered women located in a bedraggled section of the city. The women in the shelter looked at me through downcast eyes. No one smiled a greeting, and they appeared uninterested in Soapy’s carrier. Everyone seemed tense and ready to flee. One little girl in particular moved like a wisp in the background. Never raising her eyes, near reaching out, she drifted in and out of the gathered group. The staff informed me that she had been there for over a month and had not spoken the entire time. Nothing they tried had any effect. Her mother said she had talked at one time but not in recent memory. I didn’t want to imagine what could have happened to rob this little girl of the natural curiosity and enthusiasm so natural to childhood.

有一天，我和索比·史密斯前往位于城區(qū)破敗不堪角落里的一個(gè)收容所，看望那里的受虐婦女。她們用沮喪的眼神看著我們。沒(méi)有人微笑表示歡迎，也沒(méi)有人對(duì)裝著索比的箱子感興趣。所有人都顯得精神緊張，似乎準(zhǔn)備隨時(shí)逃離。尤其有個(gè)小女孩，在人群后像一陣風(fēng)似的快速移動(dòng)。她始終不抬眼睛，也不接近別人，只是飄飄忽忽地來(lái)到這群婦女中間，又飄飄忽忽地離去。這里的工作人員告訴我，這女孩已經(jīng)來(lái)了一個(gè)多月了，這期間她一語(yǔ)未發(fā)。不論這些人怎么嘗試，她就是不開口說(shuō)話。她媽媽說(shuō)，她曾經(jīng)開口說(shuō)過(guò)話，但那是很久以前的事了。我不愿想象究竟發(fā)生過(guò)什么，竟然剝奪了這個(gè)小女孩的好奇心和熱情，而這本是兒童應(yīng)有的天性。

Spreading a blanket on the floor, I sat down and opened Soapy’s carrier. As the silent child circled past me, I told the group that Soapy would come to talk to them if they sat on his blanket. Several children did this, including the silent girl. In a short time, Soapy emerged from his carrier and slowly hopped from one child to another. Unlike visits at schools where the first touches produced squeals of delight, this visit was unusually quiet. After touching Soapy, these children looked down and sighed softly or smiled into their hands. Soapy continued his rounds, and the children and their mothers gradually began to talk about Soapy and ask questions.

我在地上鋪了塊毯子，然后坐下來(lái)，把裝索比的箱子打開。那個(gè)沉默的女孩在我們身旁繞過(guò)時(shí)，我告訴大家，如果她們坐在毯子上，索比就會(huì)與她們交談。有幾個(gè)孩子坐下了，包括那個(gè)沉默的女孩。索比很快就從箱子里出來(lái)了，慢慢地從一個(gè)孩子跳到另一個(gè)孩子。不像以往帶索比去學(xué)校時(shí)，孩子們一摸它就高興得尖叫，這回是異乎尋常的安靜。這些孩子撫摩著索比，低頭一看，輕聲嘆息或者雙手捂住臉笑。索比繼續(xù)繞著圈跳來(lái)跳去，孩子們與她們的媽媽逐漸開始談?wù)撍鞅龋疫€提出問(wèn)題。

I chatted with the women and children as I kept one eye on the little girl. She sat rigidly at the edge of the blanket, legs held stiffly out straight in front of her. She was staring hard at Soapy. It appeared that he kept making eye contact with her. He would hop from child to child, each visit taking him closer to the girl. I began to wonder if he was pausing to give her time to watch him. During all other visits we had given together in schools, his usual behavior was to hop around the circle letting each person pet him. When he got back to me he would wash his face and then start the circle again.

我一邊與那些婦女和孩子聊天，一邊注意著那個(gè)小女孩。她僵直地坐在毯子的邊緣，僵硬地伸出兩條腿，聚精會(huì)神地盯著兔子。索比似乎一直在與她眼神交流。它在孩子們中間蹦時(shí)，每繞過(guò)一個(gè)孩子，它就越來(lái)越靠近那女孩。我開始納悶，索比是不是為了給她時(shí)間讓她注意它而停步。我們?nèi)W(xué)校與孩子們見面時(shí)，索比通常是繞著圈子蹦跳，讓每個(gè)孩子撫摩它。回到我這邊以后，它就會(huì)把臉洗干凈，然后再繼續(xù)繞圈。

That day, I watched as Soapy finally worked his way toward the girl. She didn’t reach out to him or encourage him in any way. Rather she sat tensely, just staring.

那天，我看到索比終于走向那女孩。她沒(méi)有伸手，也沒(méi)有任何鼓勵(lì)索比的動(dòng)作或表情，而只是緊張地坐著，凝視著對(duì)方。

Finally Soapy came to a stop about two inches from her thigh. He quietly reached out and laid his chin on her knee. I was astonished. While a common behavior for dogs, this is not a behavior exhibited by rabbits, especially not by this rabbit.

最后，索比在離她腿兩英寸的地方停了下來(lái)。它悄悄地伸出脖子，把下巴擱在那女孩的膝蓋上。我驚呆了。這對(duì)狗來(lái)講是個(gè)平常的動(dòng)作，可不是兔子的行為，尤其不是這只兔子該有的舉動(dòng)。

The child did not reach out to pet Soapy. Instead, she slowly leaned toward him. When her face was within inches of his, she carefully reached out and circled him with her arms. So softly that no one in the room could hear, she began to talk. Folded around the rabbit, she pillowed her head on his back and whispered to him. Soapy remained motionless.

那孩子沒(méi)有伸手去摸索比，而是慢慢地朝索比俯下身。當(dāng)她的臉離索比的臉只有不到幾英寸時(shí)，她輕輕地伸出手，用雙臂抱住了它。她開始說(shuō)話了，聲音輕柔得屋里沒(méi)有人能聽得見。她抱住兔子，把頭枕在它的背上，與靜靜待著的索比竊竊耳語(yǔ)。

I looked up and noticed that the shelter workers had stopped talking. Every adult in the room froze in place. Time seemed suspended. Then quietly the child unfolded and sat back up. Soapy sat up too, reached forward and briskly licked her knee. She did not smile. She did not reach out to him, but the rigidity of her back relaxed, and her shoulders rounded into a comfortable slope. The little girl stood up and walked over to her mother and began to suck her thumb.

我抬起頭一看，發(fā)現(xiàn)收容所的工作人員都停止了交談。屋里的每個(gè)成年人都呆住了。時(shí)間好像停滯不前了。然后那女孩輕輕地收回雙臂，又重新坐直了。索比也坐了起來(lái)，往前挪動(dòng)，俯身舔她的膝蓋。她沒(méi)有笑，也沒(méi)伸出手來(lái)，可她的背放松了，肩膀也有了看著舒適的斜度。她站了起來(lái)，走向她媽媽，開始吮吸自己的拇指。

The little girl reappeared when I was preparing to leave. She reached her hands out and looked me directly in the eye. I held Soapy out to her. She wrapped him in a big hug and pressed her face against him. Suspended from my hands as he was, I was concerned that he would begin to struggle. Instead he reached out his head again and laid it on the child’s shoulder. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes. As quickly as it happened, the little girl released her hug and stepped back. As she turned away, I thought I saw the beginnings of a faint smile.

當(dāng)我正準(zhǔn)備離開時(shí)，這個(gè)小女孩又出現(xiàn)了。她伸出手來(lái)，直視著我的眼睛。我把索比遞給她，她緊緊地抱著它，把臉緊貼在它的身上。它被別人舉在手里，我擔(dān)心它會(huì)開始掙扎。相反，它非但沒(méi)有掙扎，而且還伸出它的頭來(lái)，把頭貼在女孩的肩膀上。索比的呼吸變得緩慢了，它閉上了眼睛。此時(shí)小女孩松開了手，往后退了幾步。當(dāng)她轉(zhuǎn)身離開時(shí)，我想我看見她的臉上開始露出一絲淺淺的微笑。

The rabbit in his cloud of soft, warm fur had touched something deep in the child—something that had died from too much hard experience. Soapy’s innocence and trust appeared to kindle those very same qualities in the little girl.

這只兔子云朵一般柔軟而溫暖的皮毛，觸動(dòng)了孩子心靈深處的某些東西——因無(wú)數(shù)的痛苦經(jīng)歷而消失的感情。索比的天真和信賴似乎點(diǎn)燃了那小女孩同樣的情感。

Numerous times, I’ve seen how the loving presence of an animal can heal where words have no effect. It seems the language of the heart is simple after all.

我無(wú)數(shù)次見證過(guò)，一只充滿愛意的動(dòng)物的出現(xiàn)是如何醫(yī)治言語(yǔ)未能奏效的創(chuàng)傷。看來(lái)，心靈的語(yǔ)言是最簡(jiǎn)單的。

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