我始终没能破解这个迷，也许那是夏令营的活动之所，每年的夏天会使用几周。太阳射出的光线已经向西倾斜，把地上的影子拉得越来越长，那座小山还在我的前方。我再次钻进灌木丛，好不容易走上了一条崎岖的小路，刚拐过第一个路口，山脚就在我的面前了。我渴望的小山向我张开了怀抱，霞光披在它的身上。当年牧场四周砌的石墙已经垮塌了，贫瘠的牧场草地变成了一片棕褐色，卵石的缝隙中钻出了毛蕊花叶，它看起来是那样的柔软。我开始攀登了，翻越了一块花岗岩，在穿过草地时还踩倒了许多绒毛绣线菊和珍珠花，迈着急切的步伐冲向了山顶。
最终，我上气不接下气地站在了小山坚实的土地上，头顶就是蓝天，是的，小山就在我的脚下。曾经多少次，我站在远方遥望小山，现在，我终于来到了这里。然而，在我刚刚实现了目标后，它又从我的身旁无声无息地溜走了。在绵延几英里的森林地带的正前方，我发现了一座更高更长的山，山顶上绿意盎然，山坡是被开垦过的，几头牛正在那里静静地吃草。然而，我肯定无法再到达那座山了，那真是一座神秘的山，令人憧憬。那才是我曾经渴望并真正想去的地方。然而，在我向那里注目观望时，意识告诉我，那后面肯定还有另一座山。巴蒂山以外，缅因州以外，甚至几英里以外的地方，都还会有山。即使不停歇地走遍全世界，我总会找到另一座山。就在那时，我恍然大悟，人是永远也不可能找到最后一座山的。
亲爱的，请允许我
Please Let Me Have A Little World
佚名 / Anonymous
Please, my dear husband, be so generous as to let me have a little world of my own. If you find me scrawling on a piece of paper, please don' t peep over my shoulders. It may be that I' m venting some pent-up feelings, long denied expression, or trying to compose a little poem not yet presentable for the time being, or attempting to sketch out something visualized1 from my childhood memories which glows in my mind like a rainbow. When I am in such a mood, please leave me alone and let me write as the pen dictates.
Don' t disturb me, my dear, when I get nostalgic2 over some old photos or letters which bring tears to my eyes or smiles on my lips, for those were things that had happened to me before I met you, the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions that taste like green olive or glitter like scattered pearl. They are my cherished memories which, ready as I am to share with you, I would like to indulge in by myself for a while.
I hope you won' t mind when I go without you for a nice chat with a close friend of mine. You are my bosom3 friend, but you cannot take the place of other friends any more than they can do yours, l need their care, encouragement and sobering criticism just as I do yours. A starless sky with a solitary moon would be dull and cheerless, why not let there be a moonlit night resplendent4 with twinkling stars?
I may occasionally want to make a tour of faraway places. Please, don' t hold me back when I start packing for it. You are the center of my life, but certainly not the whole of it. I yearn to see the mysteries and wonders of the world miles away beyond the mountains; so let me have a chance to explore my "Alice' s Wonderland" as a "long ranger". Some time later when I come back to you with exotic experiences and fresh insights, I' m sure you will look at me in a new light.
My dear husband, so long as you let me have such a little, little world, I' ll be very much indebted to you.
亲爱的丈夫，请你慷慨地让我拥有一个属于自己的小小世界。如果你发现我在一张纸上乱写乱画，请不要在身后偷偷窥视。我可能只是在发泄一些被压抑的情感，它们长期没有机会倾诉；或者我正试着构思一首小诗，只是现在还羞于见人；或者我在试着描绘一些童年记忆中的影像，它们像彩虹般在我的脑海中熠熠生辉。当我沉浸在这样的心境中，请让我一人独处，任由自己信笔涂鸦。
亲爱的，请不要打扰我。当我对着一些老照片或书信沉思默想、啼笑皆非时，眼里会饱含泪水或嘴角挂着微笑，因为那些都是我遇到你之前发生的事。有欢乐，也有忧伤；有离别，也有相聚，如同咀嚼一枚青涩的橄榄，也如同散落的珍珠闪闪发光。他们都珍藏在我的记忆深处，尽管我愿意与你分享，但我更希望独自徜徉其中。
当我独自外出，与一位挚友聊天时，希望你不要介意。你是我最亲密的朋友，但你不能取代我其他朋友的位置，正如他们也不能取代你一样。就像我对你的需要一样，我也需要他们的关心、鼓励和友善的批评。夜空中，如果只有孤寂的月亮，而没有群星闪耀，会是一片沉闷，了无生气，为何不让闪耀的月光和璀璨的群星交相辉映呢？
偶尔，我可能想去一个遥远的地方旅行。当我开始收拾行装时，请不要阻拦我。你是我生命的重心，但不是全部。我渴望去看遥远的山那边的神秘和惊奇，所以，请让我有机会像一个“独行侠”一样，去探索我的“爱丽丝仙境”。不久以后，我会回到你的身边，带着奇特的经历和新颖的见地，我想你定会用全新的目光来看待我。
亲爱的丈夫，只要你能让我拥有这样一个小小的世界，我会对你感激不尽。
竞争是善意的
Competition in My Own World
佚名 / Anonymous
Once my mother told me a story. In Africa, when an antelope1 wakes up every morning, the first thing it thinks about is, "I must be able to run faster than the fastest lion, or I will be killed." At the same time, a lion wakes from his dream. The first thing the lion thinks about is, "I must be able to catch the slowest antelope, or I will starve to death." So, almost at the same time, the antelope and the lion get up and start running toward the rising sun.
This is life: full of chances and challenges. Whether you are an antelope or a lion, you must go ahead when the sun rises. For students, it is just the same. If we do not study hard, sooner or later, we will fall behind the other students. At first, I did not know what the word "exam" meant. Later, I knew an exam was a kind of competition2. In competitions, there are always winners and losers. As I grew up, I got to know competition well. In one' s life, there must be competitions, so people can improve3.
Each time I saw children playing games, and heard their laughter, I wished I were that age again. However, I remembered my parents' words: "You must work very hard in order to have a good future." So I picked up my pen and began to study hard again.
