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0原著作者｜肯尼斯·格雷厄姆
- The Wind in the Willows
- When you're feeling down
- go read those classic fairy tales that heal the world
- For more than a hundred years
- countless adults crushed by life
- have found their long-lost peace
- in this book about rivers
- forests
- and friendship
- It is a gift Kenneth Grahame left to all humanity
- The Wind in the Willows
- crown jewel of British children's literature
- The story begins
- just like every one of us who doesn't want to go to work
- The protagonist is a mole
- who has lived in darkness for too long
- His days never change
- sweeping
- painting walls
- moving things
- dust covering his shoulders
- Until one day
- a tremor came from deep within the earth
- Like someone gently knocking
- saying come out
- it's different outside now
- He dropped his tools
- and rushed toward the light for the first time
- Sunlight poured down like a waterfall
- He squinted his eyes
- tears streaming down
- When he could finally see clearly
- he saw a river
- The river was so wide
- wide as the whole world
- The river sang
- the willows danced
- the wind carried flower scents
- New here
- A head poked out from the grass on the bank
- It was a water rat
- brown fur gleaming
- eyes holding the gentleness of the entire river
- Come aboard
- Let me teach you to know this river
- The boat pushed through the ripples
- like cutting through a piece of green silk
- The mole's hands trembled
- the rat's hands held the oars steady
- Don't rush
- This river doesn't like anxious people
- Learn to listen to its voice
- and it will take you anywhere
- They drifted for an entire afternoon
- No destination
- no to-do list
- Only water lapping the boat
- only dragonflies skimming the surface
- Doesn't this
- count as wasting time
- the mole asked softly
- The rat smiled
- Look at that cloud
- how long does it take to drift by
- No one knows
- no one cares
- The cloud doesn't care
- the river doesn't care
- Why should you
- In that moment
- something loosened in the mole's heart
- After that they often did this
- The rat would produce all kinds of food
- wild berries
- honey cakes
- smoked fish wrapped in lotus leaves
- They lay on the grass
- watching the sky turn from blue to purple
- The mole learned to recognize every sound of the water
- Rapids were warnings
- whirlpools were jokes
- calm depths hid schools of fish
- But he hadn't yet learned
- how to face his own past
- One winter evening
- they passed through a village
- The mole suddenly stopped
- There was a scent in the wind
- The scent of old wood
- the scent of fireplace ashes
- the scent of some night many years ago
- His feet rooted to the ground
- I want to go home and see
- his voice trembled
- but I'm afraid
- He didn't finish
- His home was small
- broken
- without even a proper teacup
- The rat said nothing
- He simply accompanied the mole
- walking through snow for a long time
- until they saw that low doorway
- Inside was even more humble than imagined
- Thick dust
- cobwebs in the corners
- The mole's face burned
- Let's go
- there's nothing worth staying for
- But the rat had already rolled up his sleeves
- He wiped the table
- built a fire
- spread the blanket he brought on the bed
- You know
- the rat looked at the low ceiling
- This slanted roof is cleverly designed
- rainwater flows off by itself
- And this fireplace
- positioned just right
- the whole room will be warm
- He turned around
- eyes sparkling
- This is the coziest house I've ever seen
- The mole's tears fell into the fire
- making a soft sizzling sound
- Some friends
- have seen you at your best
- yet are still willing to crouch down
- and embrace you at your most wretched moments
- But the rat had his moments of being lost too
- A traveler came to the bank
- He wore a sea-blue coat
- speaking with a salty flavor
- He spoke of a harbor
- where the moon was especially large
- where the wine was especially strong
- where girls sang songs in languages you couldn't understand
- The rat listened
- entranced
- His oar stopped mid-air
- the boat spinning in place
- That night
- he began packing his bag
- The mole stood at the door
- are you really leaving
- I must go
- or I'll regret it for the rest of my life
- The mole didn't stop him
- He simply pressed a piece of paper into the rat's hand
- Write these down first
- write them down
- and if you still want to go
- I'll see you to the dock
- The rat wrote all night
- He wrote of purple seas
- ancient clock towers
- sailors waiting at the harbor
- When he reached the last line
- he found himself crying
- Not from longing
- but from not wanting to leave
- He folded the paper
- put it in a drawer
- Some distant places
- are enough when left on paper
- The real distant place
- is where someone waits for you to come home to dinner
- And the toad
- the toad was lost more completely
- He was the richest animal on the riverbank
- also the easiest to tire of things
- This spring he loved rowing
- summer he loved carriages
- autumn he saw an automobile
- That red machine was like a fire
- burning away all his reason
- This is living
- he crashed one car
- This is freedom
- he stole two cars
- Until the handcuffs clicked on his wrists
- he was still shouting
- you don't understand
- I just want to feel alive
- The judge counted the charges
- theft
- reckless driving
- contempt of court
- nineteen years
- Someone suggested
- let's make it a round number
- twenty years
