看不见的微笑

曹雪

Mr. Dawson was an old grouch（爱发脾气的人）， and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious apple， even off the ground， because old Dawson， they said， would come after you with his ball bullet gun.

One Friday， 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson’s house on the way to Amy’s house， but as they got close Janet saw him sitting on his front porch and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children， she was scared of（害怕）the old man because of the stories she’d heard about him.

Amy said not to worry， Mr. Dawson wouldn’t hurt anyone. Still， Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man’s house. When they got close enough， Dawson looked up with his usual frown（皱眉）， but when he saw it was Amy， a broad smile changed his entire face as he said， “Hello Miss Amy. I see you’ve got a little friend with you today.”

Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun， and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted. Dawson had the best apples in town.

When they got out of Dawson’s earshot（听力范围）， Janet asked Amy， “Everyone says he’s the meanest（最刻薄的）man in town. How come he was so nice to us？”

Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house， he wasn’t very friendly and she was afraid of him， but she pretended he was wearing an invisible（看不见的）smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while， but one day he half-smiled back at her.

After some more time， he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a“hello”at first， then more. She said he always offers her an apple now， and is always very kind.

"An invisible smile？ ” questioned Janet.

"Yes， ”answered Amy， “my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn’t afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him， that sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious（感染性的）.”

If we remember what Amy’s grandma said， that everyone wears an invisible smile， we too will find that most people can’t resist our smile after a while.

【精彩譯文】

道森先生是个坏脾气的老头儿，镇上的每个人都知道。小孩们知道不能到他的院子里摘美味的苹果，甚至掉在地上的也不能捡，因为据他们说，老道森会端着他的弹丸猎枪跟在你后面追。

一个周五，12岁的珍妮特要陪她的朋友艾米过夜。她们去艾米家的途中得路过道森先生的房子。当她们离道森家越来越近时，珍妮特看见道森先生坐在前廊，于是她建议她们过马路从街的另一边走。跟大多数孩子一样，珍妮特听过道森先生的故事，对他很是害怕。

艾米说别担心，道森先生不会伤害任何人。但每向前走一步，离老人的房子越近，珍妮特就越紧张。当她们走到房子那儿，道森抬起了头，一如既往地皱着他的眉头。但当他看到是艾米，一个灿烂的笑容让他整个表情都变了，他说：“你好，艾米小姐，我看见今天有位小朋友陪你。”

艾米也对他微笑，告诉他珍妮特会陪她过夜，她们要一起听音乐和玩游戏。道森告诉她们这听上去很有趣，并给她们每人一个从他的树上刚摘下来的苹果。她们很高兴地接受了，因为道森的苹果是镇上最棒的。

走到道森听不到的地方，珍妮特问艾米：“每个人都说他是镇上最不好打交道的人，但他为什么对我们这么好呢？”

艾米说当她第一次路过他家时，他不是很友好，这让她害怕。但她假装他有着看不见的微笑，所以她总对他回以微笑。终于过了一段时间，有一天，他也对她露出了一点笑容。

再过了些日子，他开始真正地对她笑了，并开始和艾米说话。起初只是打个招呼，后来越来越多。她说他现在总给她苹果，总是很友善。

“看不见的笑容？”珍妮特问。

“是的，”艾米回答道。“我奶奶告诉我如果我假装不害怕，假装他有着看不见的笑容，我对他微笑，总有一天他会真正微笑起来。奶奶说笑容是可以互相感染的。”

如果我们记住艾米奶奶说的——每个人都有着看不见的笑容，我们会发现大多数人在一段时间后是无法抗拒我们的微笑的。