When the Moon Follows Me

月随我行

Each of my sons made the discovery early. We would be riding in the car at night, and a little voice would call out from the back seat, “Hey, the moon is following us!”I would explain that the moon was not actually   gliding along with our car. There would be another period of critical observation and the final verdict, delivered more quietly this time: “But it really is moving. I can see it. "

我的孩子们很早都发现过这一点。当我们在夜间行车时，后座常常会传来孩子们稚嫩的叫喊声：“嘿，月亮在跟着我们走呢！”这时我总是会告诉他们月亮其实并没有随着我们的车前行。经过一番仔细地观察后，他们最终得出结论，嘟哝着说：“可它确实在动啊，我看见了。”

I thought of that one evening as I was driving. The moon, one day short of fullness, rode with me, first gliding smoothly, then bouncing over the bumpy stretches, now on my right, then straight ahead, finally disappearing as the road wound its way through the hills.

一个独自开车的夜晚，我想起了孩子们说过的话，发现那轮十五前的月儿正跟随我。起先是在夜空中平稳的滑行，接着又随着山路的颠簸起伏而轻盈地跳跃，一会儿在我右边，一会儿又在我正前方，最后则随着蜿蜒于山间的小路消失不见了。

When I crested the hill in the village, there it was again—grown suddenly immense, ripe, flooding the town with a sprawling light so magical I began to understand why it is said to inspire "looniness". I could hardly wait to get back home to show the boys.

当我到达村子里的山顶时，月儿再一次现身了---突然间，她变得硕大，丰盈，月华如流水一般泻了下来，蔓延到镇子的每一个角落。如此神奇，让我一瞬间明白了为什么有那么多人为月“痴狂”，恨不得要马上回家告诉那些小家伙儿们。

Robert was in the bathtub, so I grabbed John. "Close your eyes and come see what followed me home, "I said, hoping to increase the dramatic impact. I led him out into the night. "Okay. Open! Isn't it beautiful?"

罗伯特正在洗澡，所以我一把抓起约翰说：“快闭上眼睛跟我来，看我带什么回来了。”希望借此制造一些神秘的气氛。我把他引到夜色中。 “好了，可以睁开眼了。漂亮吧？”

John blinked a few times and looked at me as if I might, indeed, be loony. "Mom, it's just the moon. Is this the surprise?" I suppose he was hoping for a puppy.

约翰眨了眨眼，看着我，好像我疯了一样，“妈妈，不就是月亮嘛，有什么好大惊小怪的！”我想他更希望我带回一条小狗吧。

I should have realized that, being only ten, he was probably too young to know how much we sometimes need the magic and romance of moonlight. Often in the soothing, restorative glow we stare transfixed, bouncing our ambitions and hopes and plans off this great reflector. We dream about our dreams; we examine the structure of our lives; we make considered decisions.

我早该意识到，他才十岁，还太小，所以还无法理解有时候我们是多么需要月亮的魔力和浪漫。我们常常痴痴地凝望着这抚慰人心、令人振奋的月光，将我们所有的抱负，希望和蓝图都寄托在这面巨大的反射镜上。我们编织着梦想；我们审视着生活；我们做出经过深思熟虑后的决定。

The night after I showed John the moon, he burst breathlessly through the door, calling, "Mom, come out for a minute!”This time, he led me, coatless and shivering.

就在我让约翰看月亮的那夜之后，他突然气喘吁吁地冲入房门，叫道：“妈妈，出来一下！”这次是他带着我，我没穿外套，冻得直发抖。

Past the row of pine trees that line the road, the sky opened up with the full moon on it, suspended so precariously that it might come hurtling toward us -incandescent, even larger and more breathtaking than the night before, climbing its motionless climb over the molten silver of our pond. Even a ten-year-old could see this wasn't just the moon. This was The Moon.

穿过松树林立成排的小路，天空豁然开朗，一轮满月悬于其上，摇摇欲坠，仿佛就要向我们扑过来了－－它发着光，比前天晚上更亮更叫人惊心动魄。它从银光闪闪的池塘边悄悄爬上夜空。即便是一个十岁的孩子也看得出来，这不仅仅是一轮简简单单的月亮，而是普照千里的婵娟。

When I turned around, John was grinning, expectant, studying my face intently to see if he had pleased me. He had. I knew that now the moon was following him too.

我转过身去，发现约翰正咧嘴笑着，满心地打量着我，想知道有没有让我开心。他做到了。我明白，月亮也会一直伴他前行。

谢谢赏阅，欢迎留下您宝贵的建议，共同进步。