LILY THE LOTUS 美夢成真

(by  Gerard Traub, translated into Chinese by Jennifer  澳大利亞 Gerard Traub著 曾錚翻譯）

Once upon a time, in a far away pond lived a little seed named Lily. She was shy and timid, but enjoyed playing with all of her friends. Lily, however, had become unhappy, as she had heard others speak of a wondrous land above the surface of the pond in which she lived. It was said that in this world a magnificent light shone upon all creatures and skies of turquoise blue stretched to every horizon.

從前，在一個遙遠的池塘下面，住著一顆名叫莉莉的種子。她很害羞，但很愛跟朋友一起玩兒。

有一天莉莉變得不開心了，因為她聽別人說，在她住著的池塘上面呀，有一個奇妙的世界。聽說那個世界裡有明亮的光在閃耀，藍藍的天空一直伸到地平線的那一端。

Lily longed to see the beauty of this light, but just could not rise above the depths and murky waters of the pond. Her friends sometimes teased her. “There’s Lily again, dreaming as usual.” They forever told her to give up her dreams of the other world. “This is your home Lily,” they said. “Why must you seek elsewhere?” They simply could not understand her! Even the fish swimming around her commented, “Why can’t you be content with who you are? We are happy here!” Freddy the Fish, the naughtiest of all, roared with laughter and told many of the other fish to tease Lily and to call her names. Although he was unkind to Lily, she was patient with him as he had lost his father only months ago to the line of a fisherman. She also understood that not everyone in life shares the same dream. Lily’s heart still longed for something more.

莉莉好想去看看那美麗的光呀。可是，她怎樣才能到黑黑的池塘深水的上面去呢？她的朋友開始嘲笑她：「哈，莉莉又來了，還是在做夢呢。」

他們總勸她別再夢想另一個世界了：「莉莉，這裡才是你的家。為什麼要到別處去找呢？」他們就是不能理解她。一條名叫雷雷的最最調皮的魚大聲嘲笑她，還告訴好多好多別的魚都來笑她，罵她。

雖然雷雷對莉莉很不好，但莉莉沒有生雷雷的氣，因為他幾個月前剛剛失去了爸爸，讓一個漁夫釣走了。她也知道並不是所有人都做同樣的夢。但她的心裡還是充滿了夢想。

One day while Lily was daydreaming, old Mr. Reed suddenly appeared. “Hello Lily,” he said. Tears suddenly came to her eyes. “Why, you are crying my dear. May I ask what is the matter?” Lily lifted her face to Mr. Reed, known as the oldest and the wisest of all in the pond. Her tears continued as Lily shared her sadness with Mr. Reed. “Lily my dear,” said Mr. Reed. “Life has given you a heart well beyond your years. It is calling you to greater things, and though your eyes may not see it, your heart seeks further than the depths of your watery home. I must be on my way now, but I will see you again on my return.”

有一天，正當莉莉做著白日夢的時候，蘆葦伯伯來了。他說：「你好啊，莉莉。」莉莉的眼裡突然充滿淚水。

「親愛的，你為什麼哭了？能告訴我出了什麼事嗎？」

莉莉揚起臉看著蘆葦伯伯。他是池塘中年齡最大、最有智慧的。莉莉一邊流淚一邊告訴蘆葦伯伯她的憂傷。

蘆葦伯伯說：「親愛的莉莉，你有一顆已長大的心，它要帶你去看更了不起的事情。雖然你的眼睛看不見，但你的心已在尋找你這個池塘之家中所沒有的景色。現在我要走了。我回來時再來看你。」

 Soon after, Freddy the Fish rushed by and Lily could see that he was quite angry. He deliberately began stirring up the sand at the bottom of the pond, making the water even murkier than usual. As he was busily digging into the mud, he suddenly caught his tail between the rocks. He wriggled and splashed, yet no matter how he tried, he just couldn’t free himself. Freddy cried out. “Help, help!” Lily heard his call. “Help me,” he repeated. It seemed as if there was no one around. As Lily turned, she could see her friend Thomas the Tortoise in the distance. “Thomas,” she cried. He swam over to see what was happening. “Thomas, I am glad to see you,” she said. “Freddy is caught between the rocks and I didn’t know if anyone would hear me.” Thomas, a faithful friend, but a tortoise of few words, immediately went over to Freddy to see if he could help. He got behind Freddy and pushed with all his might. Using his hard shell, he lifted some of the rock until Freddy was able to break free. “Thank you so much Thomas,” said Freddy. “If it wasn’t for you and Lily, I might have been there all night.” “Don’t mention it,” said Thomas. “I am only happy to have been able to lend a hand. However, I think you might owe someone else an apology. You really haven’t been very kind to Lily.”

過了不久，雷雷從莉莉身邊衝過。莉莉看出他很生氣。他故意把池塘底的沙子攪渾，水裡變得更加漆黑。

正當雷雷忙著攪和污泥時，他的尾巴突然被大石頭夾住了。他又扭又蹦，但怎麼也掙脫不出來。雷雷大叫道：「救命！救命！」

莉莉聽到他的喊聲：「快幫幫我！」周圍好像沒有別的人了。

莉莉轉過頭，看見她的朋友烏龜多多在不遠的地方。莉莉使勁喊道：「多多！」

多多遊了過來。莉莉說：「多多，見到你真高興。雷雷被大石頭夾住了。我不知道有沒有別的人能聽見我的喊聲。」

多多是個忠實的朋友、一隻不愛講話的烏龜。他馬上到雷雷那邊去看能不能幫忙。

Thomas was right. Freddy swam over to Lily and apologised for his behaviour. “I am so sorry Lily! Even though I have laughed at you and called you names, you have never talked back to me and today you have helped to save my life. How can I ever repay you?” Lily looked into Freddy’s eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. “Freddy, I always believed that you had a good heart, and now you have proven this to me. Can we be friends?” “If you can ever forgive me Lily, I would be happy to be your friend,” Freddy said with a smile.

他游到雷雷身後，用盡全身力氣拚命地推。他用硬背殼頂石頭，頂呀頂，把石頭頂鬆了一點，雷雷急忙把尾巴扯出來。

雷雷說：「多多，太謝謝你了。如果不是你和莉莉，我沒準兒一整晚都得在那兒夾著了。」

多多說：「這沒什麼。我很高興能幫上一點忙。不過，我覺得你應該向莉莉道歉。你以前真的對她不好。」

多多是對的。雷雷游到莉莉身邊，為過去的行為道歉。「莉莉，真對不起！我嘲笑你，罵你，可是你從沒回過嘴，今天還救了我的命。我怎麼才能報答你呢？」

莉莉看著雷雷的眼睛，知道他說的是真心話。「雷雷，我總相信你有顆善良的心，而現在你自己證實了這一點。我們做朋友好嗎？」

雷雷微笑著說：「莉莉，如果你真能原諒我，我太願意做你的朋友了。」

As the mud settled to the bottom of the pond it also began to wash away from Freddy’s scales. Lily suddenly noticed something about him. “Freddy, I never realised before that under your muddy appearance you are actually a splendid goldfish. You have revealed your true colours at last.” Lily could hardly believe her eyes. Freddy, embarrassed now, thanked Lily and quickly said goodbye. He swam away, knowing that Lily had brought a little kindness to his heart! Sometime later, Mr. Reed returned. Lily shared with him what had happened. Mr. Reed was very pleased. “Lily, because you have offered your heart to help another to better themselves and to see the truth, you too will be granted the same opportunity.”

池塘裡的污泥沉澱了下來，雷雷鱗片上也掉下很多泥巴。莉莉突然發現了什麼。

「雷雷，我以前從沒注意到，你居然是條金魚！你身上的泥掉下去了，你的真實面貌露出來了！」

莉莉簡直不能相信自己的眼睛。雷雷不好意思起來，急忙說：「謝謝！再見！」然後就游走了。他知道是莉莉喚醒了他心裡的善意。

又過了一些時候，蘆葦伯伯回來了。莉莉告訴他這些事情。蘆葦伯伯很高興。

「莉莉，因為你用心去幫助別人變好並看到真相，你也會擁有同樣的機會。」

 “Lily, may I share a secret with you?” whispered Mr. Reed. “Oh yes, please do!” she cried. “Though I might be the oldest here, I am far from the wisest. A reed can indeed see the world above the water of the pond, and what a beautiful world it is! There are so many interesting things to see. I might be tall, but having lived through many seasons, I can truly say the wisest of all is the lotus flower.” Lily was surprised and looked up to Mr. Reed’s kind and gentle face. “I don’t understand Mr. Reed!” she said. “You are young Lily, but I believe it is time for you to raise yourself high, stretch yourself wide so you may blossom into whom you are destined to become.”

蘆葦伯伯悄聲問：「莉莉，你想不想知道一個秘密？」

「噢，當然，請告訴我！」

「雖然我可能是這裡年紀最大的，但卻不是最有智慧的。蘆葦就能看到水面上的世界。那真是個美麗的世界！有那麼多有趣的東西可看。我的個頭可能算是高的，我活了這麼多年，實話說，蓮花才是最有智慧的。」

莉莉吃驚地望著蘆葦伯伯和善的臉。她說：「蘆葦伯伯，我不明白！」

「莉莉，你還小。但我相信你現在已經可以長高、伸展、成長為你註定要成為的那個樣子。」

 She slowly lifted herself until finally her eyes emerged from the murky waters into the brilliance of the new world above. Lily’s heart cried with joy! “At last I can see the colour of the sky, all the beauty I have seen only in my dreams. Here, Mr. Reed, is the light for which I have longed for!” He could sense her joy within his own heart, too! He leaned down to Lily, and spoke. “Never again will your eyes be clouded by the waters of this pond. By the purity of your nature you have been granted the gift of a new life!” Mr. Reed moved a little closer and whispered, “Lily, now you have seen the land above, this world of light, but you have overlooked the most important thing of all.” Lily listened to his kind words. “Mr. Reed, please tell me. I can see so many things now that I can hardly contain myself,” she said. With a soft smile he replied “It is not what you have seen of this new world, but indeed the beauty of whom you have grown into, the sweetest, most beautiful flower in the pond.”

莉莉慢慢地長啊，長啊，有一天她的雙眼終於從黑黑的深水中浮出來，看見了水面上的新世界裡那耀眼的光亮。

莉莉的心高興地歡呼。「噢，我終於看到天空的顏色了！我終於看到原來只在夢中見過的一切了！噢，蘆葦伯伯，這裡有我一直在夢想的光亮！」

蘆葦伯伯也象莉莉一樣快樂。他彎下腰，對莉莉說：「你的眼睛再也不會被池塘的水蒙住了。因為你純潔的天性，你被賜予了一個新的生命。」

蘆葦伯伯又走近些，輕聲說：「莉莉，現在你看見了池塘上方的大地，光亮的世界，但你還沒看見最重要的景色。」

莉莉聽著他和善的話，不解地問：「蘆葦伯伯，我現在能看見這麼多奇妙的景色，還有什麼可看的？」

蘆葦伯伯輕輕地笑著說：「這個景色就是你自己。你已經長成了這個池塘中最美麗、最迷人的一朵花兒。」

Lily turned to look at herself. She had unfolded into the splendour of a lotus flower, and as she looked further she could see all the other lotus flowers that had also raised themselves from the depths of the pond. Her dream to see beyond the waters had finally come true. “The beauty which has ripened within you is also that which you now see outside of yourself and will see even beyond the horizon,” said Mr. Reed. Lily at last understood. She looked down and for the first time saw the true nature of the waters below. The pond was a place where she could learn to raise her own heart and mind into a land of greater things! All, in fact, was but a reflection of what was inside her. Now she had truly found the eyes, or rather, the heart to see a boundless and most beautiful sky, awakening now as if to a new day unfolding at first light.

莉莉轉頭打量自己。她已經盛開為一朵光彩照人的嬌艷蓮花。她向遠方望去，又看見了池塘裡所有盛開著的蓮花。

她的美夢成真了！她終於看見了另一個世界！

蘆葦伯伯說：「這份美麗首先在你的內心生長，然後才溢到你的外表，你甚至在地平線的那一端都能看見。」

莉莉這次終於聽懂了。她低下頭，第一次看見了水的真實面目。池塘是一個可以讓她的心靈和智慧得到昇華的地方，而所有的一切，不過都是她內心世界的反映。現在她終於擁有了眼睛，不，是心靈，去看那無邊無際的美麗天空，那正在黎明的第一抹曙光中甦醒的新一天的新天空。

 Lily now wanted to share her happiness with everyone living in the pond so they too could be offered the opportunity to seek the beautiful world waiting to shine within their own hearts!

The Beginning…

莉莉真想與池塘裡的每一個人分享她的快樂。她想告訴他們，每個人都有機會，去尋找那從自己內心開始的美麗的新世界。

一個新的開始……