陽(yáng)城

Charlie could not remember how many times he had heard his grandpa tellthis story：

“Everyones soul，”said Grandpa，“is like a fidgety1 bug. It is always lookingabout， trying to be happier and more content. Have you noticed that？ All thiswanting to laugh， to have a good time， to be happy... These things are a sure signthat the soul is forever searching. Souls dont have legs， but they need a way toget from one place to another so that they can keep looking. Thats why they livein a body， like yours or mine.”

“Do they ever run away？”Charlie would always ask.

“Yes， of course！ ”said Grandpa.“Souls spend very little time inthe body after they realize that the best place to be is heaven2. So，right from the time when were very small， our souls only think ofgoing to heaven， of how to get there.”

“And how do they get to heaven？”Charlie would ask“. Do theyfly there？”

“Well， of course！ ”Grandpa would say， smiling. “Thats whythey have to change vehicles3. When a star comes by on its way toheaven， the soul makes a great leap4 right onto it， leaving the bodyhere on Earth， discarded5.”

“Discarded？ So it doesnt move any more？”asked Charlie.

查理已經(jīng)記不清聽爺爺講過(guò)多少次這個(gè)故事了：

“每個(gè)人的靈魂，”爺爺說(shuō)，“就像一只焦噪不安的蟲子。它總是四處張望，試圖變得更快樂、更滿足。你注意到了嗎？所有這一切想笑，想玩得開心，想快樂……這些都是靈魂永遠(yuǎn)在尋找的明確信號(hào)。靈魂沒有腿，但它們需要一種方式從一個(gè)地方到另一個(gè)地方，以便于它們可以繼續(xù)尋找。這就是為什么它們生活在一個(gè)軀體里，就像你的或我的一樣?！?/p>

“它們會(huì)逃跑嗎？”查理總是會(huì)問。

“是的，當(dāng)然！”爺爺說(shuō)，“當(dāng)靈魂意識(shí)到最好的地方就是天堂之后，它們?cè)谏眢w里停留的時(shí)間就極少了。所以，從我們很小的時(shí)候開始，我們的靈魂就只想著上天堂，想著如何去天堂。”

“它們?cè)趺瓷咸焯?？”查理?huì)問，“它們是飛到那里嗎？”

“嗯，當(dāng)然！”爺爺會(huì)笑著說(shuō)，“這就是為什么它們必須更換交通工具。當(dāng)一顆星星在前往天堂的路上經(jīng)過(guò)時(shí)，靈魂會(huì)縱身一躍，直接跳上那顆星星，把肉體丟棄在地球上?！?/p>

“丟棄？所以它不再動(dòng)了？”查理問。

“Exactly， not even a wiggle6，”said Grandpa. “Here we say someone has died，and it makes us sad， because our souls are what give life to our bodies， and they arewhat make us love other people. But remember I said they are like fidgety bugs， andthats why， when they see their star shooting off to heaven， they leave without theslightest worry or hesitation7. Now， many souls take a long time to find their star. Imean， look at me， and how old I am！ My soul has been searching for its star for somany years， and still hasnt had any luck. But some souls， like those of the bestchildren or the best parents， know better how to findtheir star. And thats why they find it， leap onto it，and leave us so soon.”

“And do I have a soul too？”asked Charlie.“Isit searching for its star？”

“Sure， Charlie，”said Grandpa. “You are yoursoul. And the day you find your star youll forget allabout us here. Youll be on your way to heaven tohave a great time with all the souls who are already there.”

Satisfied with these words， Charlie always left his grandpa alone and wenthappily down to the river. There he used to sit looking up at the sky， searching forsome little star.

And on the day his grandpa died， thanks to this explanation8， Charlie criedonly a little bit. He was sad that he wouldnt see his grandpa again， nor hear hisstories， but he was happy that finally Grandpas soul had been lucky enough to findits star after such a long time.

“確切地說(shuō)，一動(dòng)也不動(dòng)。”爺爺說(shuō)，“這里我們說(shuō)有人死了，這讓我們感到悲傷，因?yàn)槲覀兊撵`魂賦予了我們的身體以生命，是它們讓我們愛其他人。但請(qǐng)記住，我說(shuō)過(guò)它們就像焦躁不安的蟲子，這就是為什么當(dāng)它們看到它們的星星沖向天堂時(shí)，它們會(huì)毫無(wú)擔(dān)心或猶豫地離開?，F(xiàn)在，許多靈魂需要很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能找到它們的星星。我是說(shuō)，看看我，我有多大了！我的靈魂這么多年一直在尋找它的星星，但是運(yùn)氣不好。但有些靈魂，比如最好的孩子的靈魂或最好的父母的靈魂，更了解如何找到他們的星星。這就是為什么他們找到它，跳上它，這么快就離開我們的原因?！?/p>

“我也有靈魂嗎？”查理問，“它在尋找它的星星嗎？”

“當(dāng)然，查理?！睜敔斦f(shuō)，“你是你的靈魂。當(dāng)你找到你的星星的那一天，你會(huì)忘記我們這里的一切。你將踏上去天堂的路，與所有已經(jīng)在那里的靈魂共度美好時(shí)光。”

聽完這些讓人很滿意的話后，查理便不再理會(huì)爺爺，然后興高采烈地下河去了。他常常坐在那里仰望天空，尋找某個(gè)小星星。

在爺爺去世的那天，由于這個(gè)解釋，查理只哭了一小會(huì)兒。他為再也見不到爺爺，聽不到他的故事而傷心，但他很高興，因?yàn)闋敔數(shù)撵`魂在這么久之后終于有幸找到了它的星星。