th family had just movd to rhod island, and th young woman was fling a littl mlancholy on that sunday in may. aftr all, it was mothr's day -- and 800 mils sparatd hr from hr parnts 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。sh had calld hr mothr that morning to wish hr a happy mothr's day, and hr mothr had mntiond how colorful th yard was now that spring had arrivd. as thy talkd, th youngr woman could almost smll th tantalizing aroma of purpl lilacs hanging on th big bush outsid hr parnts'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。latr, whn sh mntiond to hr husband how sh missd thos lilacs, h poppd up from his chair. "i know whr w can find you all you want, "h said. "gt th kids and c'mon. "so off thy wnt, driving th country roads of northrn rhod island on th kind of day only mid-may can produc：sparkling sunshin, uncloudd azur skis and vibrant nwnss of th grn growing all around. thy wnt past small villags and burgoning housing dvlopmnts, past abandond appl orchards, back to whr trs and brush hav dvourd old homstads.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。"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, 来到了树林和嗄敬匝谟车睦吓┏　?/span>whr thy stoppd, dns thickts of cdars and ju niprs and birch crowdd th roadway on both sids. thr wasn't a lilac bush in sight."com with m , "th man said. "ovr that hill is an old cllar hol, from sombody's farm of yars ago, and thr ar lilacs all round it. th man who owns this land said i could pok around hr anytim. i'm sur h won't mind if w pick a fw lilacs. "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。"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。"bfor thy got halfway up th hill, th fragranc of th lilacs driftd down to thm, and th kids startd running. soon, th mothr bgan running, too, until sh rachd th top.thr, far from viw of passing motorists and hiddn from ncroaching civilization, wr th towring lilacs bushs, so ladn with th hug, con-shapd flowr clustrs that thy almost bnt doubl. with a smil, th young woman rushd up to th narst bush and burid hr fac in th flowrs, drinking in th fragranc and th mmoris it rcalld.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。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。whil th man xamind th cllar hol and trid to xplain to th childrn what th hous must hav lookd lik, th woman driftd among th lilacs. carfully, sh chos a sprig hr, anothr on thr, and clippd thm with hr husband's pockt knif. sh was in no hurry, rlishing ach blossom as a rar and dlicat trasur.finally, though, thy rturnd to thir car for th trip hom. whil th kids chattrd and th man drov, th woman sat smiling, surroundd by hr flowrs, a faraway look in hr ys.在那个男人察看地窖试图向孩子们解释这座房子必定是什么样子的当儿, 那个女人不由自主地走进了紫丁香花丛。她小心翼翼地从这儿摘一枝, 那儿挑一束, 然后用丈夫的袖珍小刀将它们剪下来。她不慌不忙, 像欣赏稀有珍宝似地欣赏着每一朵花。然而, 他们终于还是返回了汽车, 走上了回家的路。孩子们叽叽喳喳说个不停, 那个男人驾着车, 那个女人坐在那儿面带微笑, 她周围放满了鲜花, 眼睛里充满着向往。whn thy wr within thr mils of hom, sh suddnly shoutd to hr husband, "stop th car. stop right hr!"th man slammd on th braks. bfor h could ask hr why sh wantd to stop, th woman was out of th car and hurrying up a narby grassy slop with th lilacs still in hr arms. at th top of th hill was a nursing hom and, bcaus it was such a bautiful spring day, th patints wr outdoors strolling with rlativs or sitting on th porch.当他们离家不足3英里时, 她突然向丈夫大声喊道："停车, 就在这里停车!"那个男人嘎地刹住车。还没等他问为什么, 女人就已经下了车, 匆匆走向附近的草坡, 怀里仍抱着紫丁香。山顶上是一家疗养院, 因为这是一个美丽的春日, 所以病人正在室外和亲友溜达或坐在门廊上。th young woman wnt to th nd of th porch, whr an ldrly patint was sitting in hr whlchair, alon, had bowd, hr back to most of th othrs. across th porch railing wnt th flowrs, in to th lap of th old woman. sh liftd hr had, and smild. for a fw momnts, th two womn chattd, both aglow with happinss, and thn th young woman turnd and ran back to hr family. as th car pulld away, th woman in　th whlchair wavd, and clutchd th lilacs.那个年轻女人走到门廊的尽头, 只见那里有一个上了年纪的病人正坐在轮椅里, 独自一人, 低着头, 背对着其他人。年轻女人越过门廊栏杆, 将鲜花放在了老太太的膝间。老太太抬起头, 露出了笑脸。两个女人聊了一会儿, 都兴高采烈。随后, 那个年轻女人转身跑回到家人的身边。当汽车开动时, 坐在轮椅里的那个女人挥动着手, 手里紧紧地握着那束紫丁香花。"mom, "th kids askd, "who was that?why did you giv hr our flowrs?is sh sombody's mothr?"th mothr said sh didn't know th old woman. but it was mothr's day, and sh smd so alon, and who wouldn't b chrd by flowrs?"bsids, "sh addd, "i hav all of you, and i still hav my mothr, vn if sh is far away. that woman ndd thos flowrs mor than i did. "this satisfid th kids, but not th husband. th nxt day h purchasd half a dozn young lilacs bushs and plantd thm around thir yard, and svral tims sinc thn h has addd mor."妈妈, "孩子们问, "那人是谁呀?你为什么把我们的花送给她?她是谁的母亲呀?"他们的母亲说, 她不认识那个老太太, 但今天是母亲节, 她看起来是那么孤独, 而鲜花会给任何人带来好心情。"再说, "她补充道, "我拥有你们, 而且我还有自己的母亲, 即使她离我很远。那个女人比我更需要那些鲜花。"孩子们得到了满意的答案, 但她的丈夫却没有。第二天, 他买了半打紫丁香幼苗, 栽到了院子四周;而且从那以后, 每隔一段时间, 他就会增加一些。i was that man. th young mothr was, and is, my wif. now, vry may, our own yard is rdolnt with lilacs. vry mothr's day our kids gathr purpl bouquts. and vry yar i rmmbr that smil on a lonly old woman's fac, and th kindnss that put th smil thr.我就是那个男人, 那个年轻母亲是我妻子。如今, 每年5月, 我们自家的院子都会散发出浓烈的紫丁香的芬芳。每逢母亲节, 我们的孩子都要采撷紫丁香花束。而且每年我都会记起一位孤独的老太太脸上露出的笑容, 以及笑容里呈现出的那种慈祥。