去年的树｜The Tree from Last Year

原著作者｜新美南吉

• A tree stood alone on a small hill
• A little bird flew down and landed on the tree
• "Hello there, tree", the bird said
• "Hello there, bird", the tree said, swaying its branches gently
• Every day, the bird came to the tree and sang
• The tree listened to the bird sing
• The wind blew, and the leaves rustled
• Sunlight fell, and shadows danced on the ground
• They were together, and they were happy
• Winter came
• The north wind blew, and the bird's body shivered with cold
• "Tree, I must fly south", the bird said
• "Go, go ahead", the tree said gently, "come back next spring and sing for me again"
• "I will definitely come", the bird said
• The bird flapped its wings and flew away
• The tree watched the bird go, getting smaller and smaller
• One by one, the leaves fell from the tree
• When the last leaf fell, the tree was bare
• The tree waited quietly
• It waited, and waited
• Snow fell, covering the tree's body
• The snow melted, and the wind grew gentle
• Grass poked its head out from the ground, and flowers bloomed
• Spring came
• The bird flew back
• But the tree was gone
• Only the stump remained, standing there all alone
• "Tree— tree—", the bird called loudly
• No one answered
• The bird flew around the stump once
• And then once more
• Not a single leaf on the stump
• The bird looked down and saw the rings in the stump
• The rings went around and around, as if saying
• "I'm here, I'm here"
• But the bird could not find the tree
• The bird flew toward the village
• In the village, smoke rose from chimneys
• In front of a window of one house, a lamp burned
• The lamp was small, its flame flickering
• The bird landed on the windowsill
• The lamp burned quietly
• The bird recognized it
• It was the tree's fire
• The bird sang softly to the lamp
• "The tree from last year, came back this year to sing"
• The lamp flickered gently
• As if to say, "I heard you"
• The bird finished singing
• And the lamp quietly went out
• The bird stood quietly on the windowsill
• Then the bird flew away
• The moon rose, shining over the village
• The bird flew toward the distance
• In the distance, there were new trees, new spring