当风筝遇上风

文◎Wayne B.Lynn 绘◎也圆

在一个有风的春日，我看到一群年轻人正在迎风放风筝玩乐，各种颜色、各种形状和大小的风筝就好像美丽的鸟儿在空中飞舞。当强风把风筝吹起，牵引线就能够控制它们。

风筝迎风飘向更高的地方，而不是随风而去。它们摇摆着、拉扯着，但牵引线以及笨重的尾巴使它们处于控制之中，并且迎风而上。它们挣扎着、抖动着想要挣脱线的束缚，仿佛在说：“放开我！放开我！我想要自由！”终于，一只风筝成功挣脱了。

然而，脱离束缚的自由使它完全处于无情微风的摆布下。它毫无风度地震颤着向地面坠落，落在一堆乱草之中，线缠绕在一棵死灌木上。

有时我们真像这风筝啊！我们中有些人是如此强硬地抵制规则，以至我们从来无法飞到本来能够达到的高度。我们只遵从部分戒律，因此永远不会飞得足够高，

使尾巴远离地面。

One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fl y their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes fi lled the skies like beautiful birds darting①and dancing. As the strong winds gusted②against the kites, a string kept them in check.

Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome③tail kept them in tow④, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say," Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose.

Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of⑤an unsympathetic⑥breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled⑦mass of weeds and string against a dead bush.

How much like kites we sometimes are. Some of us tug at the rules so hard that we never soar to reach the heights we might have obtained. We keep part of the commandment⑧and never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.

① dart 英 [dɑːt] 美 [dɑrt] vt. 投掷，投射；使迅速突然移动 vi. 向前冲，飞奔 n. 飞镖，标枪；急驰，飞奔；（虫的）螯；飞快的移动

② gust 英 [gʌst] 美 [ɡʌst] n. 风味；一阵狂风；趣味 vi. 一阵阵地劲吹

③cumbersome 英['kʌmbəs(ə)m] adj. 笨重的；累赘的；难处理的

④tow 英 [təʊ] 美 [to] n. 拖；麻的粗纤维；拖曳所用之绳 vt. 拖；牵引；曳 vi. 被拖带；拖行

⑤at the mercy of 受……支配

⑥ unsympathetic 英 [,ʌnsɪmpə'θetɪk]美 [,ʌn,sɪmpə'θɛtɪk] adj. 不表同情的；不同情的

⑦ tangle 英 ['tæŋg(ə)l] 美 ['tæŋɡl] n. 纠纷；混乱状态vt. 使纠缠；处于混乱状态 vi. 缠结；乱作一团

⑧ commandment 英 [kə'mɑːndmənt]美 [kə'mændmənt] n. 戒律；法令