林芬

Soapy is my rabbit. When people first touch him， they are surprised at how soft his fur is. I have noticed that he seems to make everyone who meets him a little softer， too.

索比是我養(yǎng)的兔子。當(dāng)人們觸摸它時(shí)，都很驚訝它的毛發(fā)竟然如此柔軟。我發(fā)現(xiàn)它似乎能讓每個(gè)遇到它的人也變得溫柔起來(lái)。

One day， Soapy and I visited a shelter for women who had been abused1 by their husbands. None of the women or their children smiled at me， and they appeared uninterested in Soapys cage. One little girl didnt even raise her eyes. Workers at the shelter told me that she had been there for over a month and had not spoken for the entire time. Nothing they had tried took effect.

一天，索比和我前往一個(gè)避難所去看望那些被丈夫虐待的婦女。那里的婦女和孩子沒(méi)有一個(gè)人對(duì)我們笑臉相迎，他們似乎對(duì)索比的籠子也毫無(wú)興致。一個(gè)小女孩甚至都沒(méi)有抬眼看一下。避難所的工作人員告訴我這個(gè)女孩已經(jīng)在這里住了一個(gè)多月了，這段時(shí)間一句話都沒(méi)有說(shuō)過(guò)。他們嘗試了很多辦法，都沒(méi)有用。

Spreading a blanket2 on the floor， I opened Soapys cage and told the group that Soapy would come to talk to them if they sat on the blanket. Several of the children did this， including the silent girl. In a short time， Soapy appeared and slowly hopped3 from one child to another. After touching Soapy， the children sighed softly or smiled. Soapy continued hopping， and the children and their mothers gradually4 began to talk about Soapy.

我在地板上鋪了一條毯子，然后打開(kāi)索比的籠子，告訴他們?nèi)绻麄兛梢宰诘靥荷系脑?，索比?huì)過(guò)來(lái)跟他說(shuō)說(shuō)話。有幾個(gè)孩子坐過(guò)來(lái)了，也包括那個(gè)一聲不吭的小女孩。不一會(huì)兒，索比出來(lái)了，慢慢地從一個(gè)孩子跳到另外一個(gè)孩子。摸了摸索比之后，孩子們輕輕地嘆了口氣，或相視而笑。索比繼續(xù)跳來(lái)跳去，而孩子們和他們的媽媽漸漸地開(kāi)始談?wù)撍鞅取?/p>

Finally， Soapy hopped towards the silent girl. She sat tensely5， just staring. Soapy stopped before her and quietly laid his chin6 on her knee. I was surprised， because Soapy hardly ever did that. The girl slowly leaned7 towards him. When her face was within inches8 of his， she carefully reached out， circled him with her arms， and whispered to him softly. When she released9 her hug， I saw a smile on her face.

最后索比跳向了那個(gè)沉默的小女孩。她緊張兮兮地坐在那里，眼睛直勾勾地盯著索比。索比停在她的面前，悄悄地把下巴放在她的膝蓋上。我很是驚訝，要知道索比幾乎不會(huì)有這樣的舉動(dòng)。小女孩慢慢地把身子靠向它。當(dāng)小女孩的臉離它的臉近在咫尺時(shí)，她小心翼翼地伸出雙臂，用手臂環(huán)繞著它，在它耳邊輕聲細(xì)語(yǔ)。當(dāng)她再次放松環(huán)抱，我看到她舒展笑顏。

Soapy， in his cloud of soft， warm fur had touched something deep in the child， something that had died from too much hard experience. His innocence10 and trust appeared to make those same qualities start to grow in her. Many times， I have seen how a lovely animal can heal where words have no effect. It seems that the language of the heart is simple after all.

索比那如白云般柔軟溫暖的毛已觸動(dòng)到這個(gè)孩子心里深處的某個(gè)東西，而這個(gè)東西因?yàn)檫^(guò)去種種的痛苦經(jīng)歷而死去。它的天真和信任似乎能讓這些品質(zhì)在她心里重新生根發(fā)芽。很多次，我都親眼看到一只可愛(ài)的動(dòng)物如何治愈言語(yǔ)治愈不了的傷口。看來(lái)，心的語(yǔ)言才是簡(jiǎn)單純粹的。