by Michael T. Smith

It was a beautiful morning； the summer heat was hours in the future； the sky was a 1）canopy of blue satin stretched over our heads in all directions. It was chilly， considering 2）the hundred degree heat wed suffered through for weeks.

Small birds chirped in the trees. Various species of ducks floated on the water， some with their backsides pointed to the sky， as they ate the 3）vegetation that rose from the bottom of the pond.

My oldest grandson， Seth， now twelve， stood on the small dock and waited for me to bait his hook with a lively worm. It wriggled in my fingers and 4）smeared me with moist black soil from the container that held eleven of its brothers.

I fastened the worm securely to the hook. “Here you go， Sethman.” as my wife Ginny and I both call him. “Youre all set.”

He cast his line into the water. His 5）bobber bounced on the tiny waves created by the small breeze that breached the 6）blockage of trees at the edge of the pond. The waves that sparkled with the reflected sun.

I baited my own hook and cast my line into the water.

We sat on the dock， enjoyed the brief reprieve from the heat and watched our bobbers for signs of a bite.

那是個(gè)美麗的早晨，夏日的酷熱還有幾小時(shí)才來，天幕如同藍(lán)色的綢緞在我們的頭頂上向四面八方鋪開。相對(duì)持續(xù)了好幾個(gè)星期華氏100 度的高溫，今天的天氣有點(diǎn)清冷。

小鳥兒在樹上吱吱喳喳地叫著。不同類的鴨子浮在水面上，有些屁股朝天，低頭吃著從池塘底部長(zhǎng)出來的水草。

我最大的孫兒——12歲的塞夫，站在小碼頭上，等著我為他的魚鉤掛上鮮活的蟲子。蟲兒在我的手指間蠕動(dòng)，并把從罐子里帶來的濕濕的黑泥巴蹭到了我手上，那罐子里還裝著它的11個(gè)兄弟。

我把蟲子牢牢地掛到鉤子上?！敖o，塞夫曼。”我和妻子金妮都那么叫他?！澳阋呀?jīng)一切準(zhǔn)備就緒了。”

他把魚線拋到水里。微風(fēng)突破了池塘邊樹木的封鎖，在水面上泛起小波浪，塞夫的浮子隨著小波浪一起一伏。波浪中閃耀著太陽的倒影。

我為自己的魚鉤裝上魚餌，也把魚線拋入水中。

我們坐在碼頭上，享受著暑熱還沒到來前的短暫時(shí)光，雙眼盯著浮子，觀察著是否有魚上鉤。

Seth reeled his line in. “What are you doing？” I asked.

“Theres no fish there.”

“Sure there are！” I said. “They arent hungry right now， but theyre there.”

He ignored me， pulled his bobber and bait in and cast his line in another direction.

I sat and watched Seth cast. Hed wait a few minutes， reel it in and cast again.

“Seth！” He looked at me. “Seth！ Patience！ Fishing is a game of patience： You cast your bait into the water and wait.”

“Poppa， there are no fish here.”

“Are too！ Seth， fishing is a game， a very slow one. Sometimes you win， but mostly you lose. The fish are clever. Its a waiting game. Toss your bait to the water and wait. The fish usually win. Theyre smart. You need to be smarter.”

We went home that day empty handed， but I hoped he learned a lesson.

Nothing is easy in life. We go through pains， struggles and dreams， but if we are patient， our goals will bite the hook and we can reel them in.

Im still waiting for mine. I know its out there， under the waters， searching for the hook baited with my written words. One day it will happen.

In the meantime， I keep fishing.

塞夫把他的魚線卷了回去?！澳阍诟墒裁?？”我問。

“那里沒魚?！?/p>

“當(dāng)然有！”我說道，“它們現(xiàn)在不餓，但魚一定在那兒?！?/p>

他不管我，拉起浮子和魚餌，把魚線投向另一個(gè)地方。

我坐在那兒看著塞夫拋出他的魚線。他等了幾分鐘，把它卷了回去，然后又再投了出去。

“塞夫！”他看著我。“塞夫！要有耐心！釣魚是關(guān)乎耐心的游戲：你把魚餌拋進(jìn)水里，等著?！?/p>

“爺爺，這兒沒魚。”

“這兒也有！塞夫，釣魚是個(gè)游戲，節(jié)奏非常慢的游戲。有時(shí)你會(huì)贏，但多數(shù)時(shí)候你會(huì)輸。魚是很聰明的。這是個(gè)等待的游戲。把你的魚餌扔進(jìn)水里等著。魚通常會(huì)贏，它們很聰明，你得比它們聰明才行?！?/p>

那天，我們空手而回，但我希望他能學(xué)到一課。

人生中沒有容易的事。我們經(jīng)歷痛苦、掙扎和夢(mèng)想，但如果我們有耐心，我們的目標(biāo)就會(huì)“上鉤”，我們就能把它們釣回來。

我依然等待著我的“魚”。我知道它就在那里，在水下，搜尋著我用文字做餌的魚鉤。終有一天夢(mèng)想會(huì)成真。

與此同時(shí)，我會(huì)一直“垂釣”不息。