每年秋冬季節(jié)，一群群從遙遠(yuǎn)的西伯利亞和天山博斯騰湖飛來(lái)越冬的天鵝來(lái)到這里，使整個(gè)湖面的上空都回蕩著它們高亢而興奮的鳴叫聲。這里，是亞洲最大的天鵝越冬棲息地——山東榮成天鵝湖。

袁學(xué)順，一位居住在天鵝湖畔的中年漢子，一位心中滿是天鵝的“癡人”，精心呵護(hù)天鵝30年，跑遍了天鵝湖的每一個(gè)角落，救助了數(shù)百只受傷的白天鵝，被當(dāng)?shù)乩习傩沼H切地稱作“天鵝衛(wèi)士”。

為天鵝“打工”

老袁的家在榮成的成山衛(wèi)鎮(zhèn)上。一個(gè)小小院落，當(dāng)街開一間擺滿舊家電的小維修店，小店的櫥柜里各種電器零件好久沒動(dòng)了，上面落滿了灰塵。到他這里來(lái)維修家電的顧客沒幾個(gè)，卻不斷有人來(lái)小店看天鵝。從柜臺(tái)側(cè)面的一個(gè)小門，可以直接去他的后院，后院的大部分面積都用網(wǎng)罩著，上面掛滿了白絨毛。老袁說(shuō)，這都是白天鵝梳理羽毛時(shí)脫落的。全世界共有5種天鵝，其中最著名的大天鵝、小天鵝和疣鼻天鵝，這些天鵝這里都有。大天鵝體長(zhǎng)120-160厘米，體重6500-12000克，盡管重達(dá)十多公斤，卻能輕捷飛行，是世上飛得最高的鳥類。大天鵝羽毛潔白如雪，體態(tài)優(yōu)雅莊重，對(duì)愛情忠貞不渝，深受人們喜愛。

老袁的本行是家電維修，如果從青年時(shí)代就好好地照顧他的生意，他家早已成了小康之家。但在前院的生意和后院的天鵝之間，他把主要精力給了天鵝。老袁指著這些天鵝自嘲地說(shuō)：“我干的這點(diǎn)修理小買賣純是應(yīng)付，干一年要歇半年，大部分時(shí)間是在為天鵝們打工?！?/p>

每當(dāng)老袁經(jīng)過(guò)后院時(shí)，在網(wǎng)中蹲著的十幾只大天鵝都“呦呦”直叫，它們是在向老袁要吃的。每只天鵝每天要吃7斤玉米、5斤菜葉，洗一回澡。因?yàn)樵鹤永餂]有下水道，老袁得一桶桶地把臭烘烘的臟水提出去，倒到街上的下水道里。還要用小推車將糞便和垃圾推出去。干完了這些，老袁要發(fā)動(dòng)妻子和女兒到附近的集市上去“募捐”菜葉。每次出發(fā)前，女兒的反對(duì)聲最大，她說(shuō)，她已經(jīng)到了考大學(xué)的年齡，在同學(xué)面前，起碼還有個(gè)面子問題吧。

這些天鵝，經(jīng)過(guò)老袁的調(diào)養(yǎng)，一年之后基本上都可以放飛了。但是有幾只斷腳折翅的，老袁說(shuō)要養(yǎng)它們一輩子，如要放了，等待它們的只有死亡。

早晚兩次巡視

每年從10月份起，從北方來(lái)的大天鵝就陸續(xù)到達(dá)成山衛(wèi)的天鵝湖。天鵝湖離老袁家有一公里多路，老袁從青年時(shí)代就每天來(lái)觀察這里的白天鵝，后來(lái)改成一天早晚兩次巡視。如今，老袁的裝備已基本實(shí)現(xiàn)了“現(xiàn)代化”：一輛舊摩托車、一副望遠(yuǎn)鏡、一只水壺、一把鐮刀、一條水褲，晚上還要帶上手電筒。

老袁說(shuō)，大天鵝生命力最弱的時(shí)刻就是一早一晚兩段時(shí)間，每天太陽(yáng)露頭之前，趁著灘上無(wú)人的時(shí)候他就要去湖邊兒，看看有沒有凍著餓著的天鵝。晚上落山之前，他也要趕到湖邊，看看有沒有偷獵的，有沒有飛不動(dòng)掉隊(duì)的小天鵝。他還要順便到灘上挖一種海草，他說(shuō)，天鵝見了這種草，吃起來(lái)特別有滋味。

后來(lái)，老袁的巡視范圍逐漸擴(kuò)大到幾十公里以外的馬山灣和朝陽(yáng)湖。這里都是大天鵝的棲息地，但是老袁的老伴卻反對(duì)老袁走這么遠(yuǎn)的路，“為了救天鵝，他早出晚歸，身體已經(jīng)不行了，跑這么遠(yuǎn)的路，家里人都提心吊膽的。”

可是，老袁還在家里設(shè)了一個(gè)“天鵝110”。成山衛(wèi)邊防派出所一位民警講了這樣一件事：去年冬天的一個(gè)傍晚，所里接到老袁的電話，聲音急切，他說(shuō)剛剛接到馬山灣一位群眾的電話，說(shuō)有一只天鵝被獵具夾住了腳，在湖里已經(jīng)飛不動(dòng)了，能不能派警車前去搜尋。當(dāng)時(shí)警車正好執(zhí)行任務(wù)去了，等到回來(lái)去接老袁時(shí)，他已經(jīng)耐不住性子，騎著摩托車去了灣里。等到半夜大家找到老袁時(shí)，他渾身是水，雙手捧著那只受傷的天鵝，已凍得說(shuō)不出話來(lái)了。

30年里，老袁繞著天鵝湖走了十萬(wàn)多公里的路，經(jīng)他手救助的天鵝不下300只。受傷的天鵝一般都脾氣煩躁，但是每當(dāng)老袁給天鵝療傷的時(shí)候，不知何故，它們都服服帖帖地將長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的脖子繞到老袁的脖子上，安靜而溫順地配合他的治療。

裝扮成一只大天鵝

1999年11月的一天，袁學(xué)順在天鵝湖邊“巡邏”時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)湖中有一只受傷的天鵝。由于受到驚嚇，遲遲不敢上岸，只是在水中不停地哀鳴。袁學(xué)順立即跳到水中，想抱起天鵝，那只天鵝見狀，卻膽怯地向深水區(qū)游去……

袁學(xué)順拿出自己的“絕活”，“裝扮”成一只大天鵝，站在水中，用“心”與這只天鵝展開“對(duì)話”。天鵝是很有靈性的。慢慢地，這只天鵝似乎讀懂了袁學(xué)順的心，停在水中觀望起來(lái)。兩個(gè)多小時(shí)后，它竟奇跡般地被引至淺水區(qū)，乖順地奔向老袁的懷抱。

回家后，袁學(xué)順發(fā)現(xiàn)這只天鵝的翅膀骨折了，立即對(duì)其進(jìn)行了接骨手術(shù)。由于害怕天鵝“亂動(dòng)”，導(dǎo)致手術(shù)失敗，袁學(xué)順竟將它整整地抱了一夜!當(dāng)天鵝由于疼痛發(fā)出陣陣哀鳴時(shí)，善良的袁學(xué)順也流淚了!

天鵝死亡他流淚

在成山衛(wèi)鎮(zhèn)，老袁反對(duì)在湖畔進(jìn)行盲目開發(fā)建設(shè)，是一個(gè)“頑固派”。他有一張手繪的天鵝湖越冬天鵝分布圖，哪里是水源地，哪里是濕地、森林，天鵝的行動(dòng)規(guī)律及分布特點(diǎn)，他都記得清清楚楚。

老袁說(shuō)，對(duì)于天鵝，他雖然稱不上什么專家，但是起碼可以算作一名忠誠(chéng)的朋友?！盀槭裁创筇禊Z能夠來(lái)這個(gè)湖?因?yàn)樘禊Z湖最適宜它們居住?！崩显f(shuō)，天鵝湖的森林、淡水和濕地以及豐富的食物，給它們提供了非常好的生存空間，如果將林子伐了、湖水污染了或者將淡水掐了、濕地毀了，這四個(gè)條件少了任何一樣，就從根本上斷絕了天鵝的生路。

前幾年湖畔搞度假別墅，老袁堅(jiān)決反對(duì)。如今濕地又被淤泥破壞了，他放聲痛哭，“毀了天鵝湖的原始生態(tài)，天鵝失去了基本的食物鏈和水源，我不知道這些天鵝還有多少呆在這里的理由!”

去年霜降之后，當(dāng)一群白天鵝因?yàn)檎也坏剿炊跒┑厣吓腔驳臅r(shí)候，老袁知道他的預(yù)言不幸印證了。他找人將被沙壩擋住的小溪挖開，但是溪水最終還是被淤泥層擋住，于是他加強(qiáng)了對(duì)天鵝巡查力度。11月18日，他在灘地上發(fā)現(xiàn)了一只被淤泥淤死的幼小天鵝，老袁蹲在干裂的泥塊上抱著它放聲大哭。

袁學(xué)順說(shuō)，每只在他懷中死去的天鵝都會(huì)流淚。這天鵝淚，別人不懂，他懂。他陪著天鵝哭，死去一只哭一回。

有天鵝永遠(yuǎn)不孤獨(dú)

回憶起兒時(shí)的一件事，他感慨萬(wàn)千。他說(shuō)，小時(shí)候每到夏天，他的外婆就拿一把用撿來(lái)的天鵝羽毛做成的扇子為他扇涼，邊扇涼，邊講天鵝的故事。“天鵝是老天賜給人的朋友，趕走了天鵝，人就會(huì)變得孤單?！蓖馄诺脑捲诶显哪X中打下極深的烙印。有天鵝就永遠(yuǎn)不孤獨(dú)，這是老袁心中的信條。

一般的家庭養(yǎng)鴨養(yǎng)雞，但沒有養(yǎng)天鵝的。袁學(xué)順為什么要去救治和喂養(yǎng)天鵝呢?這還得從一個(gè)凄美的故事說(shuō)起……袁學(xué)順早年在漁業(yè)公司操作船舶機(jī)械，常常駐足與天鵝對(duì)視，對(duì)天鵝的感情日漸加深。一年冬天，19歲的袁學(xué)順在下班途中發(fā)現(xiàn)湖區(qū)多了一只叫聲高亢、高大健壯的雄性天鵝，很快被其“雄姿”吸引了，便將其取名為“白玉”。

又一天，他在湖邊淺水葦叢中恰好遇見“白玉”，此時(shí)它已身陷偷獵者設(shè)下的網(wǎng)罩，正在慘烈地掙扎著，殷紅的血從它的翅膀根部汩汩滲流!袁學(xué)順的心像刀割一般，未加思索便跳入刺骨的水中，奮力向“白玉”游過(guò)去，但受驚的“白玉”掙扎得更加強(qiáng)烈了，而尼龍繩越纏越緊……無(wú)奈之下，袁學(xué)順只好疾步跑回家。當(dāng)他拿著剪刀趕到湖邊時(shí)，卻看到慘烈的一幕：“白玉”仰天一聲哀鳴，憤而回望了一眼，竟一頭扎進(jìn)了身下厚密的雜草和泥沙中“自殺”了!袁學(xué)順被震撼了，更為這種高貴的動(dòng)物悲痛不已!從此，他開始了傾心救助傷病天鵝的行動(dòng)……

粗略地統(tǒng)計(jì)一下，這么多年來(lái)袁學(xué)順已先后救治了300多只天鵝，投入資金20多萬(wàn)元，鄰居們?cè)缫讯忌w了樓，甚至買了汽車，而袁家至今“留守”在4間破舊的小平房里。然而，袁學(xué)順一家始終無(wú)怨無(wú)悔，因?yàn)樗麄兒吞禊Z之間已奏出世間最美妙的和諧音符，這才是他們?nèi)松泻苡幸饬x的事啊!

“你救天鵝，誰(shuí)救你!”

天鵝給袁家?guī)?lái)了許多樂趣，而喂養(yǎng)天鵝卻是十分不易的事。由于天鵝的食量很大，養(yǎng)活它幾天可以，但要養(yǎng)活它二三年，絕對(duì)是個(gè)不小的負(fù)擔(dān)。就拿食量來(lái)說(shuō)，一只天鵝每天要食用蘿卜絲、大米飯、蘋果等鮮飼料3-4公斤，而傷愈后的“大白”一口氣能吃下4公斤餃子。時(shí)間長(zhǎng)了，便常有商販隔三岔五地往袁家運(yùn)送整車的蔬菜和水果!

由于經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)，兩個(gè)女兒放學(xué)后，一個(gè)在家照料天鵝，一個(gè)隨父到野外割青草，而妻子每天都要燜一大鍋米飯，拌在草料里喂天鵝。隨著救治和喂養(yǎng)的天鵝數(shù)目增加，袁家的經(jīng)濟(jì)壓力也越來(lái)越大，甚至連孩子的學(xué)費(fèi)都交不起了。但再苦再難，袁學(xué)順也沒有虧待天鵝!實(shí)在無(wú)錢買菜，妻子只好帶上孩子們利用節(jié)假日，四處撿白菜幫子和蘿卜纓子!一次，袁學(xué)順病倒了，醫(yī)生診斷為鼻腔血管變形，隨時(shí)會(huì)復(fù)發(fā)，建議他立即住院治療。誰(shuí)知袁學(xué)順拿不出住院費(fèi)，只好在家中硬挺著，妻子心痛道：“老袁你救天鵝，誰(shuí)救你啊!?”

袁學(xué)順越來(lái)越發(fā)現(xiàn)人工喂養(yǎng)天鵝有著許多的局限性，不僅困難大，還會(huì)改變天鵝的種群發(fā)育，放飛才是天鵝的最終歸宿。榮成天鵝湖的天鵝是每年3月中旬遷徙的，它們主要利用高空季風(fēng)氣流并依賴齊飛共振高速滑翔，能在3天之內(nèi)抵達(dá)目的地。

要想將家中病愈的天鵝放飛，讓它回歸自由自在的大自然，那么放飛的時(shí)間必須要算得準(zhǔn)確，那是關(guān)系到它的生命啊!

（李 德楊 帥攝影）

The Man Who Guards Swans

By Wang Yixin， Li Junyi， Zhang Jiandong

Rongcheng in East China's coastal Shandong Province has a swan lake where hundreds of swans spend winter days after a long journey from Siberia or Xinjiang. It is Asia's largest winter habitat for swans. In the coldest months， swans swim happily there and their loud songs can be heard over the vast water expanse.

Yuan Xueshun， a middle-age man who lives in Chengshanwei Town near the lake， has been a volunteer guard of swans for the last 30 years. He has rescued hundreds of injured swans. Local people warmly call him \"Swan Guard\".

Yuan runs a small repair shop to fix home appliances. The shop fronts his house. He takes more care of swans than he does his business. A lot of people nowadays walk into his shop. But few come to him to get home appliances fixed. Most people come to see swans. They walk into his shop and then walk past the counter through a narrow short passage which leads to the back yard. The backyard is mostly covered by a huge net， to prevent injured swans from flying away.

Whenever Yuan appears in the back yard， more than 10 swans call out to him asking for food. Yuan says that each consumes 3.5 kilo rice and 2.25 kilo vegetable leaves a day. And they take a bath everyday. As the backyard doesn't have any drainage system， Yuan has to carry the used water to a water drain in the street after giving each of his beloved birds a bath. He needs to clean the courtyard of the manure and rubbish. After all the feeding， bathing， and cleaning， Yuan asks his wife and daughter to help him collect vegetable leaves from local vegetable vendors who donate vegetables to Yuan. Yuan's daughter always protests. She is about to sit for the college entrance exam. She regards collecting donated vegetable leaves as a disgrace. Yuan says to us that some of the swans in his backyard will be able to fly away in a year. But some will never go away since their wings or legs are broken. If they are set free， they will die soon.

Yuan works as a repairman only for half the year. When swans begin to arrive in October， he shuts down his business and gets busy. He goes to the lake in the morning and in the evening everyday. The lake is about 1.5 kilometers away from his home. His equipment is simple and effective: a second-hand motorbike， a telescope， a water bottle， a sickle， a pair of water-proof rubber trousers， and a torch for the evening patrol.

Yuan says that swans are weakest in the morning and in the evening. He arrives at the lake before sunrise. Before the sunset he goes there again to make sure no poachers sneak into the lake area and no young swans get separated from the group.

In his younger days， Yuan limited his beat to the sawn lake only. But later his patrol extended to two other lakes about dozens of kilometers away from home. His wife was against his faraway trip for she worried that the physical exertion of morning-evening trips day in day out might be too much for him.

So he set up a swan hotline at home. Last winter， Yuan called the local police substation to say that he had received a call saying that a swan had been caught by a hunter's trap and was not able to fly. It happened that the patrol car had been out. Yuan was asked to wait for the car to pick him up. But when the police car arrived， Yuan had already set out on his motorbike to rescue the swan. When his family finally found him later that night， Yuan was wet all over holding the swan in his arms， and he was too cold to say a word.

Over the years， Yuan has rescued more than 300 swans. Injured swans are always agitated. But when Yuan is operating on them， they become tame. They find Yuan trustworthy and put their long neck on Yuan's necks while Yuan applies medicine to the wound.

On day in November 1999， Yuan found a swan injured on his patrol. Frightened， the swan refused to come to Yuan. It whined painfully. When Yuan waded into the water and tried to approach it， the swan escaped to the deepwater area. So Yuan stood in the shallow water and acted as if he were a swan. He coaxed the swan for more than two hours before it understood Yuan's wish. It swam to Yuan's arms. The swan had a broken wing. Yuan was unable to set it right. That night Yuan held the swan in his arms and wept.

Yuan is strongly against the haphazard development projects on the swan lake. He has drawn a map with all the details indicating where the wetland is， where the fresh water is and where swans gather in the lake. Though he is not an expert on swans， he knows what the lake offers to the swans: forest， freshwater， wetland， and rich food. If any of the four is destroyed， swans can't survive there. A few years ago， some resort villas were built by the lake despite Yuan's fierce protest. Now the wetland is being invaded by silt. He says swans will lose the food and water if primitive ecology at the lake is destroyed. Last year， when he spotted a group of swans lost on a beach when they failed to find freshwater， Yuan knew that what he had predicted had come true. He asked people to open up the creek that had been stopped by a sand dike. But the creek got choked in the silt before it was able to reach the lake. On November 18， he found that a young swan had been trapped in the silt and died there.

If Yuan had put his heart into his repair trade since his youthful days， he would have been able to live a comfortable life today like many of his fellow villagers. But he just can't give up his lifelong passion for swans. The money he has spent on swans， if roughly calculated， is up to 200，000， a sum that could allow his family to build a new house and live comfortably. But his family still lives in a dilapidated four-room bungalow. But Yuan and his family do not regret what they have done for swans. They find the meaning of life in doing things for swans.

(Translated by David)