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A MILE AT A TIME
一次一英里
By Nancy Byrd Turner
作者：南希·伯德·特纳
Do you remember how the Bernado children worked together to send Grandmother to Naples? Here is another story of some children who worked together to make an old lady happy.
你还记得伯纳多的孩子们是如何齐心协力把祖母送到那不勒斯的吗？这是一则新的故事，讲述了一些孩子通过共同努力让一位老妇人开心。
Jerry and Joan knew why their neighbor, Miss Phoebe Tabb, was sad about her lilac bush. The bush was lovely, but Miss Phoebe’s face was wistful when she looked at it. Memorial Day was coming, and there was no way to send the flowers down to Ridgefield to be placed on the grave of her soldier nephew. There had not been a way for a great number of years now.
杰瑞和琼深知邻居菲比·塔布女士为她的丁香树而感伤的原因。丁香树十分迷人，但是菲比女士看着它的时候，脸上露出了伤感的神情。阵亡将士纪念日快到了，菲比女士无法前往里奇菲尔德，把花送到自己军人侄子的坟墓上。多年来一直都没有办法。
The neighborhood was thinly settled; Jerry and Joan and their widowed mother were Miss Phoebe’s only neighbors. Moreover, the rough roads were seldom used; there was small chance of a traveler’s passing at the right time.
住在附近的邻居很少，杰瑞、琼安和他们的寡母是菲比女士唯一的邻居。而且很少有人走过那些崎岖不平的道路；旅客们及时通过的可能性很小。
“She is too old to walk to Ridgefield,” Jerry said, “and we are too young.”
杰瑞说，“菲比女士年纪太大了，她无法走到里奇菲尔德，而我们又太小了。”
“And Mother can’t leave the baby,” added Joan.
琼安补充道，“而且妈妈也没法离开婴孩，”
After a while Joan said suddenly, “Jerry, let’s carry the flowers one mile, anyway; surely we can find some one to carry them the other miles.”
过了一会，琼安突然说，“杰瑞，不管怎样，我们拿着花走一英里吧；我们一定会找到其他人，拿着花完成剩下的路。”
Jerry threw his cap into the air. “We’ll do it!” he said.
杰瑞把帽子扔到空中。“我们会做到的！”他说。
They hurried home and laid the plan before their mother.
他们很快回到家，把计划告诉了母亲。
“Mrs. Jennifer’s is the only house you could walk to,” she said. “You might try there.”
她说，“詹妮弗太太家是你们唯一可以步行前往的房子，你们可以在那试试。”
“Why, bless your hearts!” Miss Phoebe cried, when the children told her.
当孩子们告诉菲比女士时，她哭着说道，“哎呀，感谢你们的善心！”
She got up early on Memorial Day, picking great sprays of fragrant lilacs and wrapping the stems in thick cotton.
阵亡将士纪念日那天她起得很早，摘下一大束芳香的丁香花，用厚厚的棉布把茎裹起来。
“You can take turns at carrying them,” she told the children. “Pass the word along that the blossoms are for the grave of Roderick Tabb. And if you should have to bring them back, I shall not cry.”
她告诉孩子们，“你们可以轮流拿着这束花，”“请转达这束花是要献给罗德里克·塔布的坟墓的。就算你们不得不把花带回来，我也不会哭的。”
