I was in Tokyo last spring， walking beneath neon[霓虹燈] signs and cherry blossoms[櫻花] with my dear friend Kirsten. Right about the time the sun was setting， we heard the sound of a jazz band coming from an alley[小巷].

But not everyone was enjoying the music. An older homeless man broke through the crowd and started yelling at the band. The musicians did their best to ignore him， but the man would not go away. There were probably two dozen of us watching this unfold—none of us knowing what we could or should do. The homeless man was starting to get more and more violent. He picked up a stick and started banging on the drum set. This was more than the young drummer could take. He stood up and pushed the old man to the ground.

A young man made his way through the crowd. He knelt down next to the old man， took hold of his hand， and asked him if he was all right. I’ll never forget the way he carefully placed his arm around the old man’s shoulders and quietly walked him away.

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act， just once， with beauty and courage，” Rainer Maria Rilke注 once said. Maybe this old man was a prince in disguise[偽裝]. And maybe he was waiting to see someone act， just once， with beauty and courage.

去年春天，我和摯友柯爾斯騰一起漫步于東京街頭的霓虹燈廣告牌和櫻花之下。太陽(yáng)即將落山的時(shí)候，我們聽到一條小巷中傳來(lái)了爵士樂(lè)隊(duì)的演奏聲。

但并不是每個(gè)人都在欣賞音樂(lè)。一個(gè)老流浪漢沖進(jìn)人群，對(duì)著樂(lè)隊(duì)叫嚷起來(lái)。演奏者們盡量不去理睬他，但他就是不肯離去。我們大概有二十來(lái)人看著事態(tài)進(jìn)展——我們都不知道自己能夠或者應(yīng)該做些什么。那個(gè)流浪漢變得越來(lái)越兇，還撿起一根棍子敲起架子鼓來(lái)。年輕的鼓手終于忍無(wú)可忍。他站起身來(lái)，一把將老人推倒在地上。

一個(gè)年輕人撥開人群擠了進(jìn)來(lái)。他半跪在老人身邊，握住他的手，問(wèn)他怎么了。我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記他小心翼翼地環(huán)抱著老人的肩頭，靜靜地帶他離開的情景。

賴內(nèi)·馬利亞·里爾克曾說(shuō)：“也許我們?nèi)松兴械木摭埗际枪?，只是在等待我們帶著美好和勇氣付諸行動(dòng)，哪怕只有一次?！币苍S這位老人便是一位喬裝的王子。也許他正在等待有人帶著美好和勇氣付諸行動(dòng)，哪怕只有一次。