一两个晚上以后,暴风雨平息了,我带着罗杰再次来到海边。这一次我抱着他沿着水边漫步,手电筒射出的锥形的黄色光芒穿透了黑暗。虽然没有下雨,海浪的巨响和持续的风声使得夜晚一样喧闹。显然,就在此时此地,伟大的自然力量尽显无疑。
One adventure on this particular night had to do with life, for we were searching for ghostcrabs, those sand-colored, fleet-legged beings which Roger had sometimes glimpsed briefly onthe beaches in daytime. But the crabs are chiefly nocturnal, and when not roaming the nightbeaches they dig little pits near the surf line where they hide, seemingly watching and waitingfor what the sea may bring them. For me the sight of these small living creatures, solitary andfragile against the brute force of the sea, had moving philosophic overtones, and I do notpretend that Roger and I reacted with similar emotions. But it was good to see his infantacceptance of a world of elemental things, fearing neither the song of the wind nor thedarkness nor the roaring surf, entering with baby excitement into the search for a " ghost."
在这样一个特别的夜晚做一次冒险是和生命相关的,因为我们找寻着那些罗杰有时白天在海堆上匆匆瞥见过的和沙子一样颜色的、行动敏捷的幽灵蟹。但蟹主要在夜间活动,当它们不能在黑夜的沙滩漫游时,就在它们在冲浪线的附近挖些小坑藏在里面,似乎在观察,在等待大海带给他们什么。看到这些小生灵,面对大海的强力而孤单脆弱时,我体会到了令人感动的哲学寓意,我不敢说罗杰和我有相似的反应。但是,看到婴儿的他接受着自然的世界,不怕风在唱歌,也不怕黑暗包围和海浪轰吟,带着婴儿的兴奋寻求着"幽之蟹"实在是一件令人高兴的事。
It was hardly a conventional way to entertain one so young, I suppose, but now, with Rogera little past his fourth birthday, we are continuing that sharing of adventures in the world ofnature that we began in his babyhood, and I think the results are good. The sharing includesnature in storm as well as calm, by night as well as day, and is based on having fun togetherrather than on teaching. 我想,这不是一个让如此年幼的孩子高兴的方式,通常人们不会这么做。但现在,罗杰刚过了他第四个生日,我们仍然继续着从他婴儿时期就开始的自然界探险之旅,我们一同感受这个旅程,而且我认为结果是美好的。我们一同感受自然,不仅有风暴,也有宁静;不仅有黑夜,也有白昼,并且我们的目的是一同嬉戏玩耍,而不是教导。