A Handful of Clay 一撮黏土

Henry van Dyke

There was a handful of clay in the bank of a river. It was only common clay, coarse and heavy; but it had high thoughts of its own value, and wonderful dreams of the great place which it was to fill in the world when the time came for its virtues to be discovered.

Overhead, in the spring sunshine, the trees whispered together of the glory which descended upon them when the delicate blossoms and leaves began to expand, and the forest glowed the fair, clear colors, as if the dust of thousands of rubies and emeralds were hanging, in soft clouds, above the earth.

The flowers, surprised with the joy of beauty, bent their heads to one another, as the wind caressed them, and said: "Sisters, how lovely you have become. You make the day bright."

The river, glad of new strength and rejoicing in the unison of all its waters, murmured to the shores in music, telling of its release from icy fetters, its swift flight from the snow-clad mountains, and the mighty work to which it was hurrying --- the wheels of many mills to be turned, and great ships to be floated to the sea.

Waiting blindly in its bed, the clay comforted itself with lofty hopes. "My time will come," it said. "I was not made to be hidden forever. Glory and beauty and honor are coming to me in due season."

One day the clay felt itself taken from the place where it had waited so long. A flat blade of iron passed beneath it, and lifted it, and tossed it into a cart with other lumps of clay, and it was carried far away, as it seemed, over a rough and stony road. But it was not afraid, nor discouraged, for it said to itself: "This is necessary. The path to glory is always rugged. Now I am on my way to play a great part in the world."

But the hard journey was nothing, compared with the tribulation and distress that came after it. The clay was put into a trough and mixed and beaten and stirred and trampled. It seemed almost unbearable. But there was consolation in the thought that something very fine and noble was certainly coming out of all this trouble. The clay felt sure that, if it could only wait long enough, a wonderful reward was in store for it.

Then it was put upon a swiftly turning wheel, and whirled around until it seemed as if it must fly into a thousand pieces. A strange power pressed it and molded it, as it revolved, and through all the dizziness and pain it felt that it was taking a new form.

Then an unknown hand put it into an oven, and fires were kindled about it --- fierce and penetrating --- hotter than all the heats of summer that had ever brooded upon the bank of the river. But through all, the clay held itself together and endured its trials, in the confidence of a great future. "Surely," it thought, "I am intended for something very splendid, since such pains are taken with me. Perhaps I am fashioned for the ornament of a temple, or a precious vase for the table of a king."

At last the baking was finished. The clay was taken from the furnace and set down upon a board, in the cool air, under the blue sky. The tribulation was passed. The reward was at hand.

Close beside the board there was a pool of water, not very deep, not very clear, but calm enough to reflect, with impartial truth, every image that fell upon it. There for the first time, as it was lifted from the board, the clay saw its new shape, the reward of all its patience and pain, the consummation of its hopes --- a common flower-pot, straight and stiff, red and ugly. And then it felt that it was not destined for a king's house, nor for a palace of art, because it was made without glory or beauty or honor; and it murmured against the unknown maker, saying, "Why hast thou made me thus?"

Many days it passed in sullen discontent. Then it was filled with earth, and something --- it knew not what --- but something rough and brown and dead-looking, was thrust into the middle of the earth and covered over. The clay rebelled at this new disgrace. "This is the worst of all that has happened to me, to be filled with dirt and rubbish. Surely I am a failure."

But presently it was set in a greenhouse, where the sunlight fell warm upon it, and water was sprinkled over it, and day by day as it waited, a change began to come to it. Something was stirring within it --- a new hope. Still it was ignorant, and knew not what the new hope meant.

One day the clay was lifted again from its place, and carried into a great church. Its dream was coming true after all. It had a fine part to play in the world. Glorious music flowed over it . It was surrounded with flowers. Still it could not understand. So it whispered to another vessel of clay, like itself, close beside it, "Why have they set me here? Why do all the people look toward us?" And the other vessel answered, "Do you not know? You are carrying a royal scepter of lilies. Their petals are white as snow, and the heart of them is like pure gold. The people look this way because the flower is the most wonderful in the world. And the root of it is in your heart."

Then the clay was content, and silently thanked its maker, because, though an earthen vessel, it held so great a treasure.

ruby 紅寶石

emerald 翡翠

fetter 束縛

譯文：

一撮黏土

從前在一條河邊有這么一撮黏土。說來也不過是普通的黏土，質地粗拙；但他對自己的價值卻抱有很高的看法，對它在世界上所可能占有的地位具有奇妙的夢想，認為一旦時運到來，自己的美德終將為人發(fā)現(xiàn)。

頭頂上，在明媚的春光里，樹木正在交頭接耳地竊竊私語，講述著當纖細的林花和樹葉開始吐放，林中一片澄澈艷麗時它們身上所沾沐的無盡光輝，那情景，宛如無數(shù)紅綠寶石粉末所形成的朵朵彩云，輕柔地懸浮在大地之上。

花兒看到這種美景驚喜極了，它們在春風的撫摸中探頭欠身互相祝賀：“姐妹們，你們出落得多可愛啊，你們真是給白日增輝。”

河水也因為增添了新的力量而感到高興，它沉浸在水流重聚的歡樂之中，不斷以美好的音調向河岸喃喃絮語，敘述著自己是怎么掙脫冰雪的束縛，怎么從積雪覆蓋的群山奔騰跑到這里，以及它匆忙前往擔負的重大工作 --- 無數(shù)水車的輪子等待著它去推動，巨大的船只等待著它去送往海上。

黏土懵懵懂懂地呆在河床，不斷用種種遠大理想來安慰自己。“我的時運終將到來，”它說，“我是不會長久被埋沒的。世間的種種光彩，榮耀，在適當?shù)臅r候，會降臨到我的頭上。”

一天，黏土發(fā)現(xiàn)它自己挪了位置，不在原來長期苦守的地方了。一鏟下去，它被挖了起來，然后和別的泥土一起裝到一輛車上，沿著一條似乎很不平坦鋪著石塊的路，運到遙遠的地方去。但它并不害怕，也不氣餒，而只是心里在想：“這完全是必要的。通往光榮的道路總是艱難崎嶇的?，F(xiàn)在我就要到世界上去完成我的重大使命。”

這段路程非常辛苦，但比起后來所經受的種種折磨痛苦卻又不算什么。黏土被拋進一個槽子里面，然后便是一番攙和，捶打，攪拌，踐踏。真是不堪其苦。但是一想到某種美好崇高的事物必將從這一番痛苦中產生出來，也就感到釋然了。黏土堅決相信，只要它能耐心地等待下去，總有一天它將得到重酬。

接著它被放到一只飛速轉動著的懸盤上去，自己也跟著團團旋轉起來，那感覺真好象自己即將被甩得粉身碎骨。在旋轉中，仿佛有一種神力把它緊緊搏捏在一起，所以盡管它經歷一切眩暈痛苦，它覺著自己已經開始變成一種新的形狀。

然后一只陌生的手把它透進爐灶，周圍烈火熊熊 --- 真是痛心刺骨 --- 那灼熱程度遠比盛夏時節(jié)河邊的艷陽要厲害得多。但整個期間，黏土始終十分堅強，經受了一切考驗，對自己的偉大前途信心不墜。它心想，“既然人家對我下了這么大的工夫，我是注定要有一番錦繡前程的?？磥砦也皇侨コ洚攺R堂殿宇里的華美裝飾，便是成為帝王幾案上的名貴花瓶。”

最后烘培完畢。黏土從灶中取出，放在一塊木板上面，讓它在藍天之下涼風之中去慢慢冷卻。一番磨難既過，報償?shù)娜兆右簿筒贿h了。

木板之旁便有一泓潭水，水雖不深也不很清，但卻波紋平靜，能把潭邊的事物，公正如實地反映出來。當黏土被人從板上拿起來時，它這才第一次窺見了自己新的形狀，而這便是它千辛萬苦之后的報償，它的全部心愿的成果 --- 一只普普通通的花盆，線條粗硬，又紅又丑。這時它才感覺到自己既不可能登帝王之家，也不可能入藝術之宮，因為自己的外貌一點也不高雅華貴；于是它對自己那位無名的制造者喃喃抱怨起來，“你為什么把我造成這等模樣？”

自此一連數(shù)日它抑郁不快。接著它給裝上了土，另外還有一件東西 --- 是什么它弄不清，但灰黃粗糙，樣子難看 --- 也給插到了土的中間，然后用東西蓋上。這個新的屈辱引起了黏土的極大不滿。“我的不辛現(xiàn)在是到了極點，讓人裝起臟土垃圾來了。我這一生算是完了。”

但是過了不久，黏土又給人放進了一間溫室，這里陽光和煦地照射著它，并且經常給它噴水，這樣就在它一天天靜靜等候的時候，某種變化終于開始到來。某種東西正在體內萌動 --- 莫非是希望重生！但它對此仍然毫不理解，也不懂得這個希望意味著什么。

一天黏土又給人從原地搬起，送進一座宏偉的教堂。它多年的夢想這回終將實現(xiàn)了。它在世界上的確是有所作為的。這時空際仙樂陣陣，四周百花飄香。但它對這一切仍不理解。于是踏便向它身旁和它一模一樣的另一個黏土器皿悄聲問到，“為什么他們把我放在這里？為什么所有的人都向我們張望？”那個器皿答到，“怎么你還不知道嗎？你現(xiàn)在身上正懷著一棵狀如王節(jié)的美麗百合。它那花瓣皎白如雪，它那花心有如純金。人們的目光都集中到這里，因為這株花乃是世界上最了不起的。而花的根就在你的心里。

這時黏土心滿意足了，它暗暗地感謝它的制造者，因為雖然自己只是一只泥土器皿，但里面裝的卻是一件稀世奇珍。