分心
An Absent-Minded Mother
伊萍
Yi Ping
春日的傍晚，在北海边一家室外的冷饮店闲坐，看着波光粼粼的水面，嗅着枝叶的清香，觉得空气中充满了生命气息。
It was late in a spring afternoon. I was sitting idle at a cold drink stall near Beihai Lake enjoying the sight of shining ripples. The faint fragrance of foliage in the air awoke me to a full sense of life.
斜对面坐着一对母女，自顾自吃冰淇淋的小女孩有着翘翘的小鼻子，大约七八岁的样子，十分可爱。母亲则抱着孩子的衣服，坐在一边轻声对她说什么。
A little aslant opposite me sat a mother and a daughter. The latter, a little lovely girl of seven or eight with a small upturned nose, was occupied with an ice-cream, while the mother holding the child’s coat was whispering to her.
一阵小风吹过，孩子打了个喷嚏，妈妈连忙拿出一直抱着的孩子的外套给她穿上，又忙不迭地扣扣子。随手扣了几个，才发现扣歪了，于是马上又解开重扣。如此微小的疏忽，却被那孩子看个正着，她大声笑道：“妈，你缺心眼啊？嘻嘻。”那母亲顿时面有愠色，坐在一旁的我也心想：这孩子竟如此出言不逊，定讨一顿好骂。然而尴尬的几秒钟之后，却听那母亲柔声说：“是啊。妈妈原来有两颗心，后来分了一颗给你呀！”说着，用手指轻轻戳了戳小女孩稚嫩的胸膛。小女孩似懂非懂地眨了眨眼睛，随即不好意思地将头埋进了妈妈怀里。母亲则伸出手臂把孩子轻轻搂住，脸上浮现出欣慰的表情。
A sudden breeze made the child sneeze. Her mother immediately put the coat on her and began to button it up. She was in such a hurry that she didn’t notice the wrongly matched buttons until halfway done. Then she hastily unbuttoned the coat and did it again. Such a careless slip, however, did not escape the child. “Ha-ha, mum, see how your mind wandered!” said the girl with a loud laughter, which brought a sullen look to the mother’s face. As an onlooker, I anticipated a good dressing-down for the little girl because of her insolent remark. But there was only an embarrassing interval of a few seconds. Then I heard the mother’s gentle voice. “Yes, it certainly did, for my heart went out to you!” said the mother, pointing a kind finger at the girl. The child blinked in bewilderment, hiding her blush in the bosom of her mother, who hugged her gently in her arms. A smile of gratification spread over the mother’s face.
霎时间，这母女温情竟深深地打动了旁观的我。然而更让人赞叹的是母亲教育孩子的方法，因为有许多人似乎都忘记了，与呵斥、讲大道理、娇惯比起来，爱才是更美好，更有效的方式。
I was deeply stuck by the moving scene of motherly love. But what was more impressive to me was her way of treating the child’s misbehavior, for quite a few people seem to forget that the best way to educate a child is not indulging or blaming, nor even moral lecturing, but tender enlightening with love.
（陈文伯 译）