懒汉海利不到中午不愿起床。他说：“早起的人，将死得很早。”一天早晨，太阳已经升起很高很高，海利还赖在鹅毛被窝里。长时间的睡眠后，得到了充足的休息，他对妻子说：“女人爱吃甜的。你又去吃蜂蜜了。我看我们得在蜂蜜没让你吃光之前，用它换一只大鹅和一只小雏鹅。”“可是，得等我生了放鹅的孩子以后才能买。难道让我为小鹅去伤神费力吗？”凯迪亚说。海利说：“你以为男孩喜欢放鹅吗？现在的孩子呀，都不听话。他们总以为自己比爸爸妈妈要聪明，总要做自己喜欢做的事。像那个农场工人，他被派去找回母牛来，他却去追赶那三只鸟了。”“不，他要是不听我的话，他可要小心了。”凯迪亚回答说，“我要拿起手杖，狠狠地揍他。看着，海利，”她兴奋地喊着，操起准备赶老鼠的那根木棒子，又说，“看我怎么把他的屁股打烂！”她扬起棒子，真糟糕，正碰着床上的蜂蜜罐子。罐子撞着墙，碎得稀里哗啦往下掉，甜甜的蜂蜜淌在地板上，“好了，再也不要谈论鹅的事了，”海利说，“我们根本不用放鹅了。幸运的是罐子没落在我头上，我们有理由说我们的运气好。”海利看那破罐碎片上还有一些蜂蜜，伸手就去拿，高兴地说：“喂，我们来享受这剩下的一点儿蜂蜜吧。可吓了这么一大跳以后，该稍稍休息休息了。我们比平常晚一点起来，有什么？日子长着呢。”“是呀，”凯迪亚回答说，“迟做总比不做好。你知道，有回，蜗牛被邀请去参加婚礼的故事。蜗牛动身走了，到人家婚后生下的孩子行洗礼的时候才到。蜗牛从房前的篱笆上落下来，还自言自语地说：‘欲速则不达。’”
巴黎——梦想中的城市
Paris--the dream city
When I first planned my recent trip to Paris I couldn't contain myself-I told anyone who'm listen.Just talking about it was exciting.But what I hadn't expected was that it seemed to affect others in extraordinary ways and always with some kind of emotion.
My shoe-repair man actually got tears in his eyes and looked off to the side.
"I never go anywhere，"he said."All I've ever done my whole life is work."His wife，he said，never wanted to travel.His grown children still needed some financial assistance from him.
I was sad that I'm triggered this longing in him-and urged him to someday go on that trip he needed.
When the dean of a local college called to ask me to teach a short summer writing class，I decided to tell her about my journey as well，thinking she'ld be especially pleased to know that two students from a travel-writing course I'm recently taught for her were actually in Paris now，and that I'm see them.
She，too，reacted with longing in her voice."I've never been there，"she said，and "I've always wanted to go."
One morning as I traversed the walking path near my condo，I met a neighbor I seldom see.I mentioned my trip，and he-who had not previously said more than a couple of words to me-suddenly became very interested."To Paris？How great！When are you going？"And on and on.
The next day I saw him again，and he was already recommending a book for me to read about the city.
Another day I saw a former student，a young poet，and when I told her，her eyes glazed over.I swear I saw stars dancing in them."Paris？You are going to Paris？Oh，that's so fantastic."
Once there，I spent some time with a good friend who is living in this city of her dreams for six months.She is someone who believes in fulfilling promises to herself.She had retired early.She was divorced，and her children were in college and working.She rented out her own home for half a year，found a Paris apartment，and planned her trip.
Even when an unexpected problem delayed her a couple of months，she didn't let it stop her.So she is now living in this beautiful city，and says，"Difficult things may happen，but why not be in a wonderful place if and when they do？"
I met other American women and men living in the city.All basically came for the beauty，the rich culture，and as the result of a dream.
The appeal of Paris includes many things，I suppose-the abundant art；the contrasts(the opulence of，say，the Op a Garnier building and the simplicity of Frenchwomen's haircuts)；the glittering jewelry，chandeliers，and mirrors(even Charles Dickens was completely fascinated and charmed by these)；the outright stares of those sitting in cafes，their chairs turned toward the sidewalk to watch the passing show；the intimacy of conversation and yet the reserve of manners and convention.
Back home，I told the students in my writing class a little about my trip.During the break，two women students said to me，"Thank you for telling us about your trip."
This surprised me because，of course，it had been my pleasure.I'm enjoyed sharing.
"We've been talking，"said one，"and we think that in two years，when we graduate，we will go to Paris."
So the dream goes on.
My friend living there for six months inspired me，and when I made plans to have my own，however brief，visit and talked about the experience，I，too，triggered hopes in others.I realized that Paris，of all cities，is more than a city.You don't get much of a response when you say you are going to Denver，or New York，or even London.
But Paris is a metaphor-a metaphor for what we're put off or longed for；a metaphor for beauty just out of reach.It stands for whatever your dream may be.
Maybe we can't always stop bad things from happening，but we can make good things happen.We can buy a ticket to the city of our dreams，wherever that may be.
最近当我第一次计划到巴黎旅行时，我无法克制自己的激动——我把计划告诉愿意听我讲话的每一个人。哪怕仅仅是谈论这次旅行都非常激动人心。但我没有预料到的是，它似乎以特别的方式而且总是带着某种情感影响到了其他人。
为我修鞋的男子眼中真的充满了泪水，他朝别处望去。
“我什么地方也没去过，”他说，“我这一辈子一直在干活。”他的妻子，他说，从来没有想到去旅行。他那已成年的孩子们仍然需要他提供一些资金帮助。
我对触发他旅行的渴望感到遗憾——并劝他在某一天开始一段他需要的旅行。
在当地一所大学校长邀请我到学校上一门简短的夏季写作课时，我决定也告诉她我的行程，想到当她得知最近我替她正教授的旅行写作课程班级中的确有两位学生现在正在巴黎，而且我将看到他们的时候，她一定会特别高兴。
她也用渴望的声音回应道：“我从未去过那里，”接着说“我一直想去巴黎。”
一天早上，当我走过靠近我居住的公寓人行道时，我遇见了一位以前很少碰面的邻居。他以前同我说的话从来不超过两句，这次我提到了我的巴黎之行，他突然变得兴趣盎然起来。“去巴黎？真好！你什么时候动身？”然后一直说个不停。
第二天我再次看到他时，他竟向我推荐去阅读一本关于这个城市的书。
又一天我看到一位我原来的学生，一位年轻的诗人，当我告诉她我要去巴黎时，她的眼神有些发呆。我发誓我看到了星星在她眼中跳动。“巴黎？你将去巴黎？噢，真是太好了！”
当到了那里后，我与一位居住在巴黎的好朋友度过了一段时间，她已在她梦想中的巴黎生活了6个月。她是一个坚信会履行自我承诺的人。她很早就退休了。她已离婚，孩子们都在上大学或已经工作。她把自己的房间租出去半年，在巴黎找了一间公寓，然后就筹划她的巴黎之行。
即使当一件意想不到的事情耽误她一两个月的时间时，她也不停顿下来。因此她现在居住在了这个美丽城市中，她说，“困难的事情或许会发生，在或许它们会发生和它们正在发生的时候，为什么不到一个美丽的地方去呢？”
我也遇见过其他生活在这个城市中的美国男女。所有的人基本上都是冲着巴黎的美丽、丰富的文化和梦想的实现而来这里。
巴黎的魅力包括很多方面，我猜想——丰富的艺术；反差（例如富丽堂皇的歌剧院大楼和简洁朴素的法国妇女发型）；闪闪发光的珠宝、枝形吊灯和镜子（甚至连查尔斯·狄更斯也完全为之陶醉而着迷）；咖啡馆中人们直率的目光，他们的椅子对着人行道以便能够观看到过往的“表演”；亲密却不失礼仪的会谈。
回到家后，我在写作课上谈起了我旅途中的一些事情。在休息的时候，两位女学生对我说，“谢谢你告诉了我们关于你旅行的事情。”
这使我很吃惊，因为这是我个人的快乐。我十分乐于与人分享。
“我们一直在讨论，”一位学生说，“我们认为两年后，当我们毕业时，我们将会去巴黎。”
于是梦想继续着。
