The Best Nourishment¹ of Life

生命最好的养料

A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis made his leg lame² and his teeth uneven³ and protrudent. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.

一个小男孩几乎认为自己是世界上最不幸的孩子，因为小儿麻痹症使他腿脚行动不便，牙齿参差不齐。他很少跟同学们玩耍，老师叫他回答问题时，他也总是低着头一言不发。

One spring, the boy's father asked for some saplings from the neighbor. He wanted to plant them in the front of the house. He told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said to the children, "Whose seedling⁴ grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift." The boy also wanted to get his father's gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees bouncily, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.

一年春天，小男孩的父亲从邻居家讨了些树苗，他想把它们栽在房前。他叫孩子们每人种一棵。父亲对孩子们说:“谁栽的树苗长得最好，我就给谁买一件最喜欢的礼物。”小男孩也想得到父亲的礼物，但是看到兄弟姐妹们快活地提着水去浇树，不知怎么回事，他萌生了一个想法:他希望自己栽的树苗早日死去。因此他浇水一两次后，就再也没去照管小树苗了。

A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn't wilt⁵, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise,bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him: from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding botanist⁶ when he grew up.

几天后，小男孩再去看他种的树苗时，惊奇地发现它不仅没有枯萎，而且还长出了一些新叶，显得更加翠绿、更有生气。父亲兑现了他的诺言，为小男孩买一了件他最喜欢的礼物，并对他说:从他栽的树来看，他长大后一定能成为一名出色的植物学家。

Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn't sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the biology teacher once said, plants general grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? When he came to the courtyard on tiptoe, he found his father was splashing

something under his tree with a ladle. All of a sudden, he understood: his father had been secretly fertilizing⁷ his small tree! He returned to his room, tears running down his face without restraint.

从那以后，小男孩慢慢变得乐观起来。一天晚上，小男孩躺在床上睡不着，望着窗外明亮的月光，突然想起生物老师说过植物一般都在晚上生长。何不去看看自己种的那棵小树呢?他轻手轻脚地来到院子里的时候，却看见父亲正用勺子在自己栽种的那棵树下泼洒着什么。顿时，一切他都明白了，原来父亲一直在为自己栽种的树苗偷偷地施肥!他返回房间，止不住泪流满面。

Decades passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

几十年过去了，小男孩并没有成为植物学家，却成为美国总统，他的名字叫富兰克林·罗斯福。

Love is the best nourishment of life; even if it is just one ladleful of clear water, it can make the tree of life thrive. Maybe that tree is inconspicuous; perhaps that the tree is so thin, and even some withered⁸, but as long as there is nourishment of love, it can flourish and even grow into towering trees.

爱是生命最好的养料，哪怕只是一勺清水，它都能使生命之树茁壮成长。也许那棵树是那样不起眼，甚至还有些枯萎，但只要有爱的养料孕育，它就能枝繁叶茂，甚至长成参天大树。