The Mango Tree

by Stephen 翻译：范婕

The Mango Tree

无私的芒果树

by Stephen 翻译：范婕

“爱有多深人生就有多沉。”本文关于芒果树的故事改编自谢尔·希尔弗斯坦（Shel Silverstein）的著名绘本《爱心树》（The Giving Tree），看似简单的绘本故事，却能触及人心，甚至让人泪目。读完这个故事，你不禁想起了谁？

Once upon a time, there lived a big mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it.

He climbed to the top, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by. The little boy grew,and he no longer played around the tree.

One day, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look.

“Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid. I don’t play around trees anymore,” the boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, I don’t have money…but you can1)pickall my mangoes and sell them.”

The boy was so excited. He picked all the mangoes and left happily.

One day, the boy grown into a man returned. The tree was so excited.

“Come and play with me,” the tree said.

“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for2)shelter. Can you help me?”

“Sorry, I don’t have a house, but you can chop off my3)branchesto build your house.”

So the man cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The man didn’t come back afterward. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned.

“Come and play with me!” the treesaid4)delightedly.

“I am getting old. I want to go sailing and relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”

“Use my5)trunkto build your boat.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and didn’t come back for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years.

“Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. The only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with sadness.

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,”the old man replied.

“The old tree roots are the best place to rest. Come sit down with me and rest,” the tree said.

The man sat down, and the tree was glad and smiled.

词组加油站

take a nap 睡午觉，小睡一下

chop off 砍掉

go sailing 去远航

1) pick [pΙk] v. 采，摘

2) shelter ['ʃeltə] n. 遮蔽

3) branch [brαːntʃ] n. 树枝

4) delightedly [dΙ'laΙtΙdlΙ] adv. 欣喜地，高兴地

5) trunk [trʌŋk] n. 树干

参考译文

很久以前，曾有一棵繁茂的芒果树，有个小男孩总喜欢在树的周围玩耍。

他一会儿爬到树顶，一会儿摘芒果吃，一会儿又在树阴下睡觉。小男孩爱这棵树，树也喜欢和他一起玩儿。

时光流逝，小男孩慢慢长大，他不再喜欢在树旁玩耍了。

一天，男孩表情忧伤地来到树旁。

“来和我玩吧，”树对男孩说。

“我不再是个孩子了，不会再在树周围跑跑跳跳了，”男孩答道，“我想要玩具，我需要买玩具的钱。”

“对不起，我没有钱……但你可以摘下我身上所有的芒果，拿去卖了换钱。”

男孩很兴奋，他摘下所有芒果，高兴地离开了。

一天，已经长大成人的男孩回来了，树非常开心。

“来和我玩吧，”树说。

“我没有时间玩，我得工作养家。我们需要一幢房子遮风挡雨，你能帮我吗？”

“对不起，我没有房子，但你可以砍下我的树枝，给你自己搭幢房子。”

于是男人砍下了所有的树枝，高兴地离开了。那之后男人没有再回来。树又一次变得孤单难过。

在一个炎炎夏日，男人回来了。

“来和我玩吧！”树开心地说。

“我年纪越来越大了，想扬帆远行，放松一下。你能给我一艘船吗？”

“用我的树干造船吧。”

于是男人砍下树干，造了一条船。他下水远航，很长时间都没有再出现。

多年后，男人终于回来了。

“对不起，我的孩子，我已再没有什么可以给你了，只剩下奄奄一息的树根，”树哀伤地说。

“我现在不再需要什么了，只想有一个休息的地方。这么多年下来，我累了，”老人回答。

“老树根最适合让人休息了。来我身边坐下歇歇吧，”树说道。

男人坐了下来，树开心地笑了。