“Do you know where Miss Benson is today?” the principal asked.

“No, sir,” I answered,

“Miss Benson,” he said, slowly and clearly, “is in the hospital, and you sent her there!”

I sat, stricken, in my chair.

“知道卞老师今天在哪儿吗？”校长问我。

“不知道，先生，”我回答。

“卞老师，”校长说，一字一句都很清晰，“现在在医院里，是你害了她！”

一时间我如同被雷击中，瘫坐在椅子里。

“Do you know what you gave her?” he continued.

I nodded. “Berries, thistles and pretty red leaves, "I listed.

“Those ‘pretty red leaves’ are poison ivy, young man."(Poison ivy is a kid of sumac which can cause a severe skin rash if touched) His voice was filling with anger. “How did you protect yourself when you picked them? Gloves?”

“你知道自己送了些什么给她吗？”校长继续问。

我点点头。“我送了她浆果，蓟花还有一些漂亮的红叶子，”我罗列出每一种花材。

“那些‘漂亮的红叶子’是毒葛，年轻人。”（毒葛是漆树的一种，接触后会引发严重的皮疹。）校长越说越生气。“采毒葛时你是拿什么来保护自己的？手套吗？”

I shook my head. “Honest, I didn’t know they were poison ivy.” I stared to cry.

The principle stood up. “Paul, I am suspending you for ten days. What happens after that depends upon your behavior when you return.”…

When I went back, Mother was sitting in her rocker, she held out her arms, and I sat in her lap while she rocked me for a few minutes. “Let’s have a party!” she exclaimed finally. “What would you like to do the very most?”

“I’d like to go see Miss Benson,” I replied.

Miss Benson was sitting up in bed when we arrived. Her face was covered with bandages. Only one eye was showing. Both of her hands were swathed as well.

我使劲摇头否认。“真的，我根本不知道这些红叶子是毒葛。”我开始哭起来。

校长站起身。“保罗，我罚你停课十天。至于十天以后该怎么办，那就得看你返校后的表现了。”

回家的时候，妈妈正坐在摇椅上，她张开双臂把我拥进怀中摇了一会。“让我们来做点开心的事情吧！”妈妈大声说。“现在最想做什么？”

“去看卞老师，”我回答道。

我们走进病房时，卞老师正坐在床上，脸上缠满了绷带，只露出一只眼睛。双手也缠满了绷带。

"I didn't know they were poison ivy,” I blurted out. “I didn’t mean to make you sick. I only wanted to give you something....”I stopped talking and swallowed hard.

Miss Benson's one eye studied me. “You wanted to give me something special, didn't you Paul?”I nodded.

“All those apples were from you, weren't they?"Again I nodded.

“When I get these bandages off," she said, “I am going to give you a great big hug.”

I was filled with happiness. She was not mad at me.

“我不知道那些叶子是毒葛，”我脱口而出。“我从来没有想过让您生病。我只想送您一点东西……”因为太激动我不得不停下来，强憋着不哭。

卞老师那只眼打量着我。“你想送我一点特别的东西，对吗保罗？”我点点头。

“那些苹果都是你送的，对吗？”我又点点头。

“等我拆掉绷带，”她说，“老师要给你一个大大的拥抱。”

我满心欣慰。她没生我的气。

“And I’ll tell you a great big secret, too, Paul,” she continued. “When I am married, if I have a son, I would like him to grow up just like you.”

I wasn't certain that I saw a tear in her eye as Mother led me out of the room.

“我也要告诉你一个大秘密，保罗，”卞老师接着说，“等我结婚后，要是有个儿子，我希望他将来长大后能像你一样。”

当妈妈领着我走出病房时，我似乎看到老师的那只眼睛里，闪着泪光。

责任编辑：admin