Carl's garden
卡尔的花园

Carl was a quiet, lonely man. Even after living in our neighbourhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well. Yet he would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake.
卡尔是一位安静、孤独的老者。他在我们社区居住了50多年，却没人敢说真正了解他。但每当他跟你打招呼时，他总会露出灿烂的笑容，并紧紧地握住你的手。
When he saw a flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristic manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up. He was well into his 87th year when the thing we had always feared finally happened.
当他在我们当地的教堂看到了征集照料牧师住所后花园志愿者的宣传单时，他便以他特有的方式做出了回应——直接去报了名，一点儿没有声张。可是，他到了87岁高龄时，我们一直担心的事情终于还是发生了……
He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?"
这天，正在他刚刚为花园浇完水时，三个年轻人走近他。他完全没有在意这三个人威吓他的企图，只是问道：“你们想用浇花的管子喝点儿水吗？”
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As he was lying there, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.
三个人中长得最高、最凶的那个说：“是的，当然”，脸上带着恶意的微笑。当卡尔递给他们水管时，另两个人抓住卡尔的手臂，将他摔倒在地。他躺在地上时，这三个家伙偷了他的退休纪念手表和钱包，然后逃走了。
Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. The minister came running to help him. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister asked as he helped Carl to his feet.
卡尔试图让自己站起来，但他的那条坏腿实在用不上力气，又倒了下来。牧师跑来帮他。“卡尔，你没事吧？你受伤了吗？”牧师边问，边帮他站了起来。

Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head." Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday." He picked up the hose and adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. “I’ve got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," he said calmly.
卡尔用一只手擦了擦额头，叹了一口气，摇着头说：“只是几个年轻无知的孩子，我希望他们有朝一日能够懂事些。”他拿起水管，重新调整了一下喷嘴，开始继续浇水。“我得完成我的浇水任务。最近天气一直很干燥。”他平静地说道。
A few weeks later the three returned. Their threat was unchanged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him, but wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done. Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.
几个星期后，那三年轻人又回来了。他们又是来威吓这位老人家的。卡尔还是让他们用水管喝水。但这次，他们并没有抢卡尔的东西，而是从他的手中抢过水管，用冰冷的水将他从头到脚浇湿。当他们完成了对卡尔的羞辱后，便沿着街道扬长而去了，竞相着为他们刚刚所做的事情带来的快乐而大笑着。卡尔只是看着他们，然后转向温暖的阳光，拿起水管，继续浇水。
The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when felt someone was approaching him from behind. He turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors. He braced himself for the expected attack.
夏天很快过去，秋天到来了。这天，当卡尔正在耕地时，感觉到身后有人靠近自己。他转过身来，看到了夏天折磨过他的那三个年轻人中高个儿的头儿。此时，卡尔已经做好了再一次被他攻击的心理准备。
"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, offering a tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. Then, pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
“老先生，您别担心。这次我不会伤害您。”这个男孩轻轻地说，同时将一只带有纹身和伤疤的手伸向卡尔。然后，从他的衣袋里掏出一个皱巴巴的袋子，递给了卡尔。
"What's this?" Carl asked. "It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet." "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?" “
这是什么？”卡尔问道。“这是您的东西，”男孩解释说，“我把您的东西还回来了，包括钱包里的钱。”“我不明白，”卡尔说，“你为什么现在要帮我？”
The man seemed embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But you never showed any hate to us for hating you." He stopped for a moment.
男孩看上去非常尴尬和不安。“我从您身上学到了一些东西，”他说。“我跟那帮人一起混，专门伤害像您这样的人。我们选择您，是因为您年纪比较大，我们知道我们能够得手。但是，您从来没有因为我们讨厌您而表现出对我们的憎恨。”他停了片刻。
"I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back. That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.
“我们偷了您的东西后，我无法入睡，所以我把东西还回来了。我想，这个袋子就是我向您表达感谢的方式，感谢您帮助我回到了正道。”然后，男孩便沿着街道离开了。
Carl opened the sack and took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride who still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
卡尔打开袋子，取出他的退休纪念手表，戴回手腕上。然后，打开他的钱包，看着自己的结婚照。他凝视了一会儿照片上年轻的新娘，跨越几十年的时空，她仍然对他微笑着。
He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral. The minister noticed a tall young man with tattooed hands who he didn't know, sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
那年冬天圣诞节后的一个寒冷的日子里，卡尔去世了。许多人参加了他的葬礼。牧师注意到一个他不认识的手上有纹身且身材高大的年轻人，安静地坐在教堂的一个偏僻角落里。
The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care for Carl's garden." It took a while, but then one day a knock was heard at the minister's office door.
来年的春天，教堂里又贴出了一份宣传单，上面写道：“招募负责照料卡尔花园的人士。”有一段时间，这份宣传单无人问津。直到有一天，牧师办公室的门口传来了敲门声……
Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said. The minister didn't hesitate and gave him the keys to the garden shed.
打开门，牧师看到一双带有伤疤和纹身的手里拿着那份宣传单。“我相信这份工作应该属于我，如果您接受我的话。”年轻人说道。牧师毫不犹豫地把花园棚屋的钥匙交给了他。
The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. He went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. And he kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.
从那以后，这个年轻人就接过了照料卡尔花园的任务，并且在接下来的几年里，一直像老卡尔一样照料着花园里的花和蔬菜。后来，他上了大学，结了婚，成为了这个社区的优秀成员。他将这个花园照料得非常好，就如同他认为老卡尔会做的那样。