2021-06-11 National Making Life Beautiful Day

The Progressive Tiger (开明的老虎)

【The Garret】

Ezra Pound (1885—1972)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948〗

       Thank you, whatever comes.' And then she turned

         And, as the ray of sun on hanging flowers

         Fades when the wind hath lifted them aside,

         Went swiftly from me. Nay, whatever comes

         One hour was sunlit and the highest gods

         May not make boast of any better thing

         Than to have watched that hour as it passed.

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

【《阁楼》】

埃兹拉·庞德“强壮·围栏”(1885生—1972卒)

〖1948年诺贝尔文学奖〗

            来吧，让我们怜悯那些比我们有钱的人。

            来吧，我的朋友，记住

            富人有管家没朋友，

            我们有朋友没管家。

            来吧，让我们怜悯结了婚的和还没结婚的人。

            晨光纤小的脚走进阁楼

            好像镀金的巴甫洛娃，①

            我几乎实现了我的心愿。

            生命中没什么比这更美──

            这清凉的曙色之中

            这一齐醒来之时。

【注】高中毕业这年，我看到娃儿去年画的21页图画书，名字叫《开明的老虎》。

传奇故事发生在非洲大草原上，那里住着一只神话般的生物——开明的老虎，他喜欢和大象一起睡觉，喜欢和鱼儿一起游泳，喜欢和斑马一起奔跑；他喜欢大笑，喜欢讲笑话；他的笑声很大很大。

开明的老虎喜欢结交新朋友……无论来自哪片土地，无论什么物种，最重要的是……开明的老虎不吃其它动物，其它老虎并不喜欢开明老虎的生活方式。

“我们是老虎，"他们咆哮着，"我们是草原的统治者！”
有一天，其它老虎围住了开明的老虎，他们终于想让他知道他们的想法。

"听好了，"他们说，"你的朋友都是食物。不要和你的食物玩。"

开明的老虎叹了口气："如果我不想吃他们呢？"
其它的老虎困惑了
"这些鸟儿有朋友，这些斑马有家人。如果你们认识的谁被吃了，你们不会难过吗？"

其它的老虎愣住了。他们从未这样想过。
一个接一个，他们点头，表示同意。他们留下开明的老虎孑然一身。
突然，他们听到一声巨响……砰！
灌木丛中传来窸窸窣窣的声音，然后，一群偷猎者从藏身处冲了出来。
他们拿着小而尖的武器，骑着奇怪而快速的马，那些马发出像暴风雨一样的噪音。

所有的老虎和动物都拼命地跑。
斑马冲进森林，鱼儿顺流而下，袋鼠跳进高高的草丛。
开明的老虎想跑……但它的腿因为吃素而缺乏肌肉。
它只能等着偷猎者来抓。

于是，它的身体如今躺在一座豪宅里。
对于开明的老虎来说，终究是个幸福的结局！

〖The Progressive Tiger〗

1. Legend has it on a savanna in Africa.

2. There lived a mythical creature.

3. The Progressive Tiger

4. He liked to sleep with elephants. He liked to swim with fish. He liked to run with zebras.

5. He liked to laugh and tell jokes. He had a large laugh.

6. The progressive tiger liked to make new friends... ...from any land or species.

7. Most of all... The progressive tiger did not eat other animals.

8. The other Tigers did not like the Progressive Tiger's lifestyle.

9. "We are Tigers," they growled. "We are the rulers of the Savanna!"

10. One day, the other Tiers gathered around the Progressive Tiger. They finally wanted to let him know their thoughts.

11. "Listen here," they said. "Your friends are food. Do not play with your food."

12. The Progressive Tiger sighed. "What if I don't want to eat them?" The other Tigers were confused.

13. "These birds have friends." "These zebras have families." "Wouldn't you be sad if someone you knew was eaten?"

14. The other Tigers were stunned. They had never thought of that before.

15. One by one, they nodded and agreed. They left the Progressive Tiger alone.

16. Suddenly, they all heard a massive... BANG!

17. A rustle is heard from the bushes. Then, a group of Animal Poachers burst out of the hiding spot.

18. They had small, pointy weapons and weird, fast horses. The horses made loud noises like a rainstorm.

19. All the Tigers and animals ran away as fast as they could. The zebras dashed into the forest. The fish swam down the stream. The kangaroos leapt into the tall grass.

20. The Progressive Tiger tried to run... ...but his legs had no muscle from his vegetarian diet. All he could do was wait for the poacher to catch him.

21. And thus, his body now sits in a mansion. A happy ending after all for the Progressive Tiger!

这个画册让我沉默了很久。

十七岁的孩子，用21页的图画，讲了一个关于善良、孤独与命运的寓言。开明的老虎不吃其它动物，却被同类排斥；它结交不同物种的朋友，却因此失去了捕食者的本能；当危险来临时，所有人都逃走了，只有它跑不动。

他问我，妈妈，这是个幸福的结局吗？

我看着最后一页——开明的老虎被做成标本，躺在一座豪宅里。它不再需要跑，不再需要觅食，不再需要被同类排斥，也不会再被偷猎者追捕。它的身体成了装饰品，被那些曾经威胁它的人当作炫耀的资本。

我说，也许对于一只不吃其它动物的老虎来说，不再活在这个弱肉强食的世界里，就是幸福。

他笑了，说我也是这么想的。

十八岁这年，他就要去纽约“新紫衫树之地”上大学了。我把这个画册翻了又翻，想起他三岁的时候，画的画都是乱糟糟的线条；八岁的时候，开始给画里的小人加上对话气泡；十七岁的时候，画出了这只开明的老虎。

每一只开明的老虎，都会找到属于自己的结局。哪怕是成为标本，躺在一座陌生的豪宅里。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2021: NPHS Class of 2021 Senoir Class(北宾州高中2021届毕业生)

2015: Sixth Grade Year-End Awards Ceremony(初一年终颁奖典礼)

NPHS Commencement for Class 2021

(北宾州高中2021届毕业典礼 06-12-2021)

Crosslinks(相关博文):

12th Grade(高中四年级)

11th Grade(高中三年级)

10th Grade(高中二年级)

9th Grade(高中一年级)

8th Grade(初中三年级)

7th Grade(初中二年级)

6th Grade(初中一年级)

5th Grade(小学五年级)

4th Grade(小学四年级)

3rd Grade(小学三年级)

2nd Grade(小学二年级)

1st Grade(小学一年级)

Kindergarten(学前班)

Preschool(幼儿班)