良善之举

Fiona

英語中有句谚语，“Present rose to others with remaining fragrance at hand”，翻译过来，即为人们常说的“送人玫瑰，手有余香”。充满善意的举动，哪怕只是一个微笑，也能温暖他人、照亮内心。

本期美文阁精选了三个小故事：《微笑》《良善之举》与《真正的男子气概》。《微笑》中，乔治灿烂的笑容，点亮小女孩珍妮灰暗的一天；《良善之举》里的两个善良的小男孩，为街边遇到的陌生人伸出援手，分担重物；《真正的男子气概》一文中的小英雄弗雷德，临危不惧，果敢地从火海中救出小女孩。这些故事的主人公有一个共同特点：拥有一颗善良的心，并在帮助他人的同时，收获内心的成长与喜悦。

Poor lame Jennie sat at her window， looking out upon the dismal， narrow street， with a look of pain and weariness on her face. “Oh， dear，” she said with a sigh， “what a long day this is going to be.” and she looked wishfully up the street.

Suddenly she leaned forward and pressed her pale face against the glass， as a rosy-checked boy came racing down the street， swinging his schoolbooks by the strap. Looking up to the window， he took off his hat and bowed with a bright， pleasant smile.

“What a nice boy he is，” said Jennie to herself， as he ran out of sight. “I am so glad he passes by here on his way to school1. When he smiles， its radiant like the sun shine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up and smile.”

“Mama，” said George West， as he came from school， “I cant help thinking about that poor little girl I told you of the other day. She looks so tired. I took off my hat and bowed to her today. I wish I could do something for her.”

“Suppose you should carry her a handful of2 pretty flowers some time when you go to school，”said Mrs. West. “Ill do that tomorrow morning，”said George， “if I can find my way into that rickety old house.”

The next morning， as Jennie sat leaning her head wearily against the window， watching the raindrops chasing one another down the glass， she spied George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window， and， smiling very pleasantly， said， “How shall I find the way to your room？”

Jennie pointed to an alley nearby， where he turned in， and with some difficulty found his way to the dingy staircase. Opening the door to Jennies gentle “Come in” invitation， he said， “I have brought you a handful of flowers to look at on this rainy day.”

“Are they for me？” inquired Jennie， clapping her hands in delight. “How kind you are.” she continued， as George laid them in her lap， “I have not had a flower since weve moved to the city.”

“Did you use to live in the country？” asked George.

“Oh， yes，” answered Jennie， “we used to live in a beautiful cottage， and there were trees and flowers and green grass， and the air was so sweet.”

“Well， what made you move here？”

“Oh，” said Jennie， softly， “papa died， and mama was sick for so long that the money was all gone. Then mama had to sell the cottage， and she moved here to try to get work to do.”

“Do you have to sit here all day？” asked George， glancing around the bare room and out into the dismal street. “Yes，” said Jennie， “because I am lame， but I would not care for that， if I could only help mama.”

“I declare， its too hard！” said George， who dreaded nothing so much as being obliged to stay in the house. “Oh， no， it isnt，” said Jennie， pleasantly， “mama says maybe we should forget the Lord if we had everything we wanted， and He never forgets us， you know.”

“Well，I must rush for school，” said George，not knowing exactly what to say next， and he was soon out of Jennies sight， but had a happy little corner in his heart， because he had tried to do3 a kind act. He did not know how much good he had done in making a pleasant day out of a dreary4 one for a little sick girl.

“Mama，” said George， that evening， after he had told her what Jennie said， “papa must give them some money， so they can go back to their home.”

“No，” said his mother， “he can not do that， and they would not wish him t o d o s o ， b u t perhaps he can help us contrive s o m e w a y t o assist them， so that they can live more comfortably.”

“I am going to carry Jennie some of the grapes grandpa sent me， tomorrow.” said George， turning over the leaves of his geography book. “I will put some of my pears into your basket， and go with you，” said his mother， “but there is one thing we can always give， and sometimes it does more good than nice things to eat， or even money.”

“What is that， mama， smiles？” asked George， looking up. “Yes，” answered his mother， “and it is a good plan to throw in a kind word or two with them when you can.”

天空陰沉沉的，珍妮无法起身，只能又一次坐在窗前，望着窗外狭窄的街道，脸上流露出痛苦和疲倦。“哦，天啊，”她叹了一口气说，“这将是漫长的一天。”说完，她满怀渴望地朝街道另一端望去。

当一个穿着玫瑰色格子衣服的男孩跑过这条街时，珍妮突然倾身向前将那张苍白的脸贴在玻璃上。男孩摆动着他用绳带捆起来的课本，脱下他的帽子，向珍妮鞠了一躬，脸上露出明亮、愉快的笑容。

“多好的男孩啊！”男孩走远以后，珍妮想，“他在去学校的路上要经过这里令我高兴。他的微笑像太阳一样，照进我的内心。真希望每个经过这里的人都能抬起头，笑一笑。”

“妈妈，”乔治放学回到家里说，“我不是经常对您说那个待在窗前的小姑娘吗？她看起来很疲惫。我今天脱下帽子向她鞠躬了，我想再为她做点什么。”

“你可以给她带上一束漂亮的花。”妈妈说道。“如果我能找到那栋房子的入口的话，明天我就送去。”乔治回答。

第二天早上，珍妮靠着窗边，百无聊赖地看着雨一滴一滴沿着玻璃滑落。这时，她瞥见乔治拿着一束美丽的鲜花从街对面走来。走到她的窗前，乔治停了下来，微笑着说：“我怎么才能进入你的房间？”

珍妮用手指向不远处的小过道，乔治颇费了些力气才找到楼梯入口。他听见珍妮轻轻地说：“请进。”乔治打开门说：“我给你带来一束花，下雨天你可以看看它们。”

“给我的吗？”珍妮高興地拍着手，“你真善良。”当乔治把花放在她的膝盖上时，她继续说：“自从我们搬进城里，我还没有收到过花呢。”

“你以前一直住在乡下吗？”乔治问道。

“哦，是的，”珍妮回答说，“我们以前的房子很大很漂亮，那儿有树木、鲜花和绿草，空气很新鲜。”

“那为什么要搬来这里？”乔治问道。

珍妮轻声说：“爸爸去世了，妈妈又久病不起，花光了积蓄。妈妈不得不卖掉别墅，搬到这里找点事做。”

乔治环顾了一眼空荡荡的房间，又向窗外的街道望了望说：“你整天都坐在这里吗？”“嗯，”珍妮说，“因为我的腿有点瘸，但如果我能帮助妈妈，我一点都不在乎这个。”

“我只能说这太糟糕了！”乔治想到自己不能在这里久待。“不，还没有那么糟糕，”珍妮说，“妈妈说过，当我们得到想要的一切时，可能会将上帝遗忘，但你知道，他从来不会抛弃我们。”

“好吧，我得赶紧去学校了。”乔治解释，然后不知该说什么。乔治很快从珍妮的视线中消失。在内心的某个角落，乔治仍旧觉得快乐，因为他在试着帮助别人。他并不知道自己已经把一个生病小女孩沉闷的一天变得愉快。

那天晚上，乔治把珍妮的事情告诉了妈妈，然后说道：“妈妈，让爸爸给她们一些钱吧，这样她们就可以回自己的家了。”

“不行，”妈妈说道，“你爸爸不会同意我们这么做的，她们也不希望我们这样做，但也许可以找到别的方法来帮助她们，这样她们就可以生活得更舒适一些。”

“明天我要带给珍妮一些爷爷送给我的葡萄。”乔治边翻地理书边说。“我和你一起去，再带上一些梨，”妈妈说，“我们还必须带一件东西，这样东西比好吃的更重要，甚至比金钱都重要。”

“那是什么， 妈妈？是微笑吗？”乔治抬头问道。“是的，”妈妈回答说，“微笑的同时如果能附上两句贴心的话语，那就再好不过了。”