The Old Man Who Plant Oak

李姝

A young traveler was exploring the Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren1 land. It was desolate2. It was the kind of place you hurry away from.

Then， suddenly， the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorn3. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.

The old man was using the iron pipe to punch4 holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man told the traveler， “Ive planted 100，000 acorns. Perhaps only tenth of them will grow.” The old mans wife and son had died， and this was how he chose to spend his final years. “I want to do something useful，” he said.

Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the same place. What he saw amazed5 him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest with two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing， animals were playing， and wild flowers perfumed the air.

The traveler stood there recalling6 the desolation that once was； a beautiful oak forest stood there now—all because someone cared.

一個年轻的旅行者在阿尔卑斯山探险。他来到一块一望无际的不毛之地，那里荒无人烟，那是一种让人急欲离开的地方。

后来，年轻的旅行者突然停住了脚步。只见辽阔的荒地中央一位老人正在弯腰播种。他背着一大袋橡子，手里拿着一根4英尺长的铁管。

老人用那根铁管在地上打洞，然后从袋子里掏出一颗橡子，放进洞里。后来，老人告诉那个旅行者：“我已经种了10万颗橡子，大概只有十分之一的橡子能够成长。”老人的妻儿都已经死去，而这就是他选择度过晚年的一种方式。“我想做一些有意义的事儿。”他说。

25年后，那个已不再年轻的旅行者故地重游，而眼前的情景却让他惊叹不已。他无法相信自己的眼睛。那块土地覆盖上了5英里长、2英里宽的美丽森林。那里，小鸟歌唱，动物嬉戏，野花飘香。

旅行者站在那里，回忆着它以前的荒凉。一片美丽的橡树林现在之所以耸立在那里，都是因为某个人的关心啊！

1. barren [?b?r?n] adj. 贫瘠的

2. desolate [?des?l?t] adj. 无人的；荒凉的

3. acorn [?e?k??n] n. 橡子

4. punch [p?nt?] vt. 打孔；用拳猛击

5. amaze [??me?z] vt. 使吃惊

6. recall [r??k??l] vt. 使想起，回想endprint