Fly away

龙钰虹

Fly away
离巢
The sky was clear beyond the vanishing snow, giving rise to the sweet scent of sping. Above, a flock of geese was making its way home. From the vantage point of her car seat, my four-year-old studied the geese with great curiosity.
雪在化，天空清澈明亮，空气中弥漫着春天的淡淡香气。高处，一群天鹅正飞向家乡。我四岁的女儿，就着车上的有利位置，带着极大的好奇心打量着它们。

“Is the mommy bird sad when her babies grow up and go away?” she asked with a child’s wisdom that can startle a parent.
“当小天鹅长大飞走的时候，天鹅妈妈会不会伤心呢？”她带着的孩子气的天真问我，而我却愣住了。

The prescience of this little girl with puffy cheeks and huge brown eyes staring into my reaview mirror caught me by surprise. At age forty, I was at the cusp of midlife, and time has become a precious commodity. I had been mentally checking off our afternoon’s list of errands, calculating the next few hours before that magical stroke of the clock pronounced the children’s bedtime----and my freedom. Suddenly, with her simple question, I realized that time was running out for this unique partnership I had taken for granted.
女儿胖乎乎的脸蛋上那双棕色大眼睛全神贯注的盯着后视镜，她的先见之明却让我措手不及。四十岁的我，正处于尴尬的中年时期，时间对我来说几乎是件奢侈品。我还在盘算着今天下午的种种差使，计算着离那神奇的钟声响起还有多久的时间——那宣告孩子们该上床了，我自由了的钟声。突然间，她一个简单的问题让我意识到，我们之间的那种我一直认为是理所当然的独特的关系，也会随着时间的流逝而改变。

After all, she was my youngest child. She would be the last to Aaccompany me to the grocery store, challenging my patience with those dreaded words, “I have to go potty.” “Now?” I would cry out, glancing at our groceries on the conveyor belt, then at the person ahead waiting to have a check approved. Heads would turn in the direcion of the middle-aged woman carrying her tot like a football while making the hundred-yard dash across the store to the ladies’ room. “When will this day end?” I’d moan, exhausted, returning to find that the manager had restocked my abandoned food.
她终究是我最小的孩子。不会再有别的孩子来陪我去杂货店，用那些让人头疼的话来考验我的耐心，“我要尿尿！”“现在？”我会大叫一声，先看看传送带上的那堆东西，又看看前面等着付款的人。瞬间之后，人们会看到一个中年妇女像拎着足球一样拎着她女儿，以百米冲刺般穿过杂货店直到另一端的女厕所。“这日子何时才是尽头啊？”我边往回走边抱怨，绝望地发现经理以把我扔下没付钱的食物放回了货架。

Driving to that same market on the day the geese caught her attention, I didn’t want the day to end. I admit: It is a one-sided proposition. She goes where I go, does what I do, without much choice in the matter. But she is always game. Who else would stand in line at the post office with me for half an hour with only the promise of a lollipop as compensation? A lump rose in the back of my throat.
但当天鹅吸引了她的注意力的今天，我同样正在开车前往这家超市，但我却不希望日子有尽头。我承认，我们之间并不是完全平等。她跟着我去我去的地方，跟着我做我做的事，而没有太多选择的余地。但她总是很有兴趣。还有谁会和我一起在邮局排队等上半个钟头，就为了我承诺的一颗棒棒糖的奖励？想到这里，我哽咽了。

“Mommy,” she said. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“妈咪，”她说，“你还没回答我的问题呢。”

My gaze followed the birds disappearing over the horizon. Maybe their joy was in watching their young learn to fly, knowing they had shared those lessons as each season passed. She, too, would develop independence, travel secure in the space she has been given.
我的目光跟随着那群天鹅，直到它们消失在地平线上。也许看着年幼的天鹅学飞，知道它们在四季的变化中学会了该学的东西也是它们的乐趣吧。我的女儿，也会逐渐独立，也将在她自己的世界里无忧无虑地翱翔。

“The mother bird feels proud of her children,” I answered.
“天鹅妈妈会为她的孩子而骄傲的。”我回答道。

I looked over my shoulder to see her smilling in the backseat. And I sent up a silent prayer that in years to come, when she has left the nest, I’d remember this moment. Someday, releasing her into the world might take her far from me. But for now, we’re still the dynamic duo.
我回头看到后座上她露出了笑容。而我在心中默默祈祷，在将来她离巢之时，我能记起这一刻。某一天，她将离我远去；但此刻，我们仍是最亲密的一对。

Note："be the last to Aaccompany me"   I don’t know how to translate. Would you help me?

[ 本帖最后由 龙钰虹 于 2008-11-12 13:49 编辑 ]

Cinderella

the vanishing snow在雪融之后，————雪在化

Driving to that same market on the day the geese caught her attention但当天鹅吸引了她的注意力的今天，我同样也去了这家超市，————不是“去了”，是“正在开车前往”

travel secure in the space she has been given————secure一词漏译

"be the last to Aaccompany me"  ——因为她是我最小的孩子(she was my youngest child)， 所以不会再有别的孩子来陪我去杂货店，而且在那里说“我要尿尿”这样令人害怕的话，来挑战我的耐心。译成“不会再有别的孩子来......”可以体现母亲现在的心境，她突然悔悟到，有孩子相伴，这是很珍贵的时刻。

整篇不错。

龙钰虹

Thank you~ I've corrected them.

Cinderella

That's fine. You're welcome.