老方救鸟记
It was Saturday. Lao Fang, after dozing off in front of the computer at MIIS library, woke up and was surprised to find that it was almost 3 o’clock in the afternoon. He had planned to go to NPS gym to work out and the gym closed at 4 pm on weekends. Hurriedly he got up from the chair, ran down the stairs, dashed out of the library and mounted his bicycle. If nothing happened on the road, he would be at NPS in 15 minutes.
It was a fine day, sunny and comfortably warm. Lao Fang was wearing a black short sleeved shirt with white dragon designs and four Chinese characters saying Long Cheng Jixiang– Dragon Is Good Omen. The shirt was made in Thailand. He bought it at a yard sale for 3 bucks. “Saved me the trouble of going to Thailand,” he had said to the lady who sold it. He also bought a pink shirt with many white elephants from her, also a product from Thailand. This morning, Lao Fang debated which one he should wear and finally decided on the dragon. He wanted to appear Chinese.
As he was driving past the central lake, he saw a seagull lying on the grass under a tree. He drove by thinking it weird to see a seagull lying on the ground. Then it appeared to him that the bird must be in trouble. He made a u-turn and stopped the bike where the bird was lying.
那是星期六。老方在图书馆的电脑前打了个盹，醒来后惊奇地发现已经快下午三点了。他本来计划去NPS健身房锻炼，但周末健身房下午4点就关门了。他急忙从椅子上站起来，跑下楼梯，冲出图书馆，骑上自行车。如果路上什么事都没发生，他15分钟后就能到NPS了。
那是一个晴朗的日子，阳光明媚，温暖舒适。老方穿着一件黑色短袖衬衫，上面有白龙图案，还有四个汉字“龙成吉祥”。这件衬衫是泰国制造的。他在庭院旧货出售时花了3美元买的。“省了我去泰国的麻烦，”他对卖它的女士说。他还从她那里买了一件粉红色的衬衫，上面有很多白色的大象，也是泰国的产品。今天早上，老方争论着该穿哪一件，最后决定穿龙。他想表现得像中国人。
当他开车经过中央湖时，他看到一只海鸥躺在树下的草地上。他开车经过，觉得看到一只海鸥躺在地上很奇怪。这时他觉得这只鸟一定遇到麻烦了。他调头，在鸟躺着的地方停了下来。
Stooping down, Laofang found that the bird was alive. He flipped the bird with his finger to see what was wrong with it. The bird turned its head quickly to bite him and for once did catch his right hand. Lao Fang felt a pinch that gave a slight hurting feeling and that was all. He carefully used one finger to turn the bird and saw ants busily marching under the bird’s belly. He did not examine if the ants were going to eat the bird after it died or was just passing by. He lifted the wings of the bird to try to help it to stand, only to find that it could not walk on the left leg. It must be broken. He picked it up and felt it strangely light. “Not worthy to catch bird meat,” the thought went though his mind swiftly. Then he laid the bird down. He felt confused, not knowing what to do with it. One the one hand he felt he could not walk away from in injured bird and on the other hand he was thinking that this is nature. If you are weak, you die and no one should intervene.
Cars on Del Monte Boulevard zoomed past. Lao Fang stood up, staring at the oncoming traffic, wondering if anyone was paying attention to the sight of an old Chinese playing with something on the ground like a kid. The weather was fine and those people must be out for fun.
I wish no one who knows me has driven by.
老方弯下腰，发现那只鸟还活着。他用手指轻弹那只鸟，看看有什么毛病。那只鸟迅速转过头来咬他，这一次抓住了他的右手。老方摸了一下，有点疼，就这样。他小心翼翼地用一根手指拨动小鸟，看到蚂蚁在小鸟的肚子下面忙碌地移动。他没有检查蚂蚁是要在鸟死后吃掉它，还是只是路过。他举起鸟的翅膀，试图帮助它站起来，却发现它不能用左腿走路。一定是坏了。他把它捡起来，觉得它奇怪地轻。“抓鸟吃肉真不值得，”这个念头迅速掠过他的脑海。然后他把鸟放下。他感到很困惑，不知道该拿它怎么办。一方面，他觉得他不能离开受伤的鸟，另一方面，他认为这是自然规律。如果你虚弱，你就会死，没有人应该干预。
德尔蒙特大道上的汽车呼啸而过。老方站了起来，盯着迎面而来的车辆，不知道有没有人注意到一个像孩子一样在地上玩东西的中国老人。天气很好，那些人一定是出去玩了。
我希望没有认识我的人开车经过。
Casting a glance at the helpless bird, Lao Fang felt that it was extremely calm, as if showing submissiveness to its fate. Well, why should it be my concern? Lao Fang got on his bike and left.
No, I should not leave like this, he thought as he was about ten meters away. Shouldn’t he report the bird to someone? He knew there was an organization called SP something but he neither had a phone nor knew its number. Yes, there was the boat renting office by the lake. He turn back and drove towards a cabin by the lake but saw the peddle boats were all covered with canvas and there was no sign of humans in the cabin.
He drove back to the bird, got off the bike and squatted down beside the seagull. The bird turned its head to look at him. He knows what I want to do, Lao Fang thought. He stroked the bird’s back gently. In a distance, a couple was sitting on the lawn feeding some wild birds. The birds were happy to receive scraps of bread from them.
老方看了一眼这只无助的鸟，觉得它非常平静，似乎在顺从命运。这跟我有什么关系?老方骑上自行车走了。
不，我不应该就这样离开，他走到十米远的地方想。他不应该把这只鸟报告给别人吗?他知道有个叫SP什么的组织但他既没有电话也不知道号码。是的，湖边有一个租船办公室。他掉头向湖边的一间小屋驶去，但看到那些小船都被帆布覆盖着，小屋里没有人的迹象。
他开车回到海鸥身边，下了车，蹲在海鸥旁边。那只鸟转过头来看着他。他知道我要干什么，老方想。他轻轻地抚摸着鸟的背。远处，一对夫妇正坐在草地上喂野鸟。鸟儿们很高兴从他们那里得到面包屑。
Oh, yes, the police! Lao Fang suddenly remembered he was heading towards the library, where the police station was. Why don’t I turn it in to the police? Thus decided, he became very professional, using a string to tie the beak of the seagull and then lifting it into the front basket of his bike.
Well, no time for working out, He thought. To work out in the gym of NPS, he normally parks the bike at the card-controlled turning gate that was wide only for one person to walk in. How could he leave the bird unattended while working out in the gym? He must take the bird to the police first and then there would not be
enough time to come back for the gym.
Two policewomen were in the front office as Lao Fang walked into the police station. The short dark-skinned one walked towards him with expressionless face:” How can I help you?”
哦，是的，警察!老方突然想起来，他是要去图书馆，警察局就在那里。我为什么不把它交给警察呢?就这样决定了，他变得非常专业，用一根绳子把海鸥的喙绑起来，然后把它放在自行车的前篮里。
好吧，没时间锻炼了，他想。为了在NPS的健身房锻炼，他通常把自行车停在刷卡门，那个门只允许一个人进去。他怎么能在健身房锻炼的时候丢下这只鸟不管呢?他必须先把这只鸟带到警察局，然后就没有了有足够的时间回来健身。
老方走进派出所时，有两个女警察在前厅。那个皮肤黝黑的矮个子面无表情地朝他走来:“我能帮你什么忙吗?”
“Ya, I just want to ask if you take care of injured animals, like birds?”
“We do not take care of injured animals. SPCA does.”
“I’ve got a bird here that cannot fly or walk. Can I leave it here so that you can call the SPCA to pick up? I am on my bicycle and cannot go there.”
“Ah, let me ask my officer, OK?”
“OK.”
Lao Fang walked out of the office. He preferred to be in the open air as much as possible. As he came near the bike, he noticed the seagull had tried to come out and obviously had failed. It was now in an uncomfortable position. Moreover, it was opening and closing its beak ask if panting. Oh my God, Lao Fang thought, don’t you die on me!
After about five minutes a young policeman came out. He was in neat police uniform and his handgun was the most noticeable thing about him.
“是的，我只是想问你是否照顾受伤的动物，比如鸟类?”
“我们不照顾受伤的动物。SPCA。”
“我这儿有一只不会飞也不会走的鸟。我能把它放在这里吗，你可以打电话给爱护动物协会来取?我骑自行车去不了。”
“啊，让我问问我的警官，好吗?”
“好吧。”
老方走出了办公室。他喜欢尽可能呆在户外。当他走近自行车时，他注意到海鸥试图出来，但显然失败了。它现在处于一个不舒服的位置。此外，它还在张开和合上它的嘴，好像在喘气。哦，我的上帝，老方想，不要死在我面前!
大约五分钟后，一个年轻的警察走了出来。他穿着整洁的警服，手枪是他身上最引人注目的东西。
“Is that the bird in the basket?”
“Yes. “
“Where did you find it?”
“By the lake. It was lying on the grass and could not fly or walk.”
“So you picked it up?”
“Yes, if no one takes care of it, it will die.”
“Did you call the SPCA?”
“I do not have a phone. That’s why I brought it here. Can you call the SPCA for me?”
The police said Ok and Lao Fang reminded him of bringing a rubber band to secure the beak since the string had slipped off.
“篮子里的那只鸟是吗?”
“是的。”
“你在哪儿找到的?”
“在湖边。它躺在草地上，不会飞也不会走。”
“所以你把它捡起来了?”
“是的，如果没有人照顾它，它会死的。”
“你给防止虐待动物协会打电话了吗?”
“我没有电话。所以我把它带来了。你能帮我打电话给动物保护协会吗?”
警察说，Ok。老方提醒他带来一根橡皮筋固定鸟嘴，因为绳子已经脱落了。
The man went in. Lao Fang looked at the bird and found it still trying to struggle. Minutes past and there was no sign of the policeman. What took him so long? Could’ he find a rubber band from his desk?
Lao Fang took the bird out of the basket and put it on the cement ground. Now it looked OK. He lifted it and walked towards the door of the police office. At the same time, the officer came out with the police woman who had received him moments ago. The woman was holding a carton box. So that’s what had kept them for so long.
The officer was now putting on a pair of rubber gloves. They were new and of bright green color. Lao Fang noticed the woman also was wearing gloves.
那人走了进去。老方看了看那只鸟，发现它还在挣扎。几分钟过去了，警察还是不见踪影。他怎么花了这么长时间? 他能从桌子上找到一根橡皮筋吗?
老方把鸟从篮子里拿出来，放在水泥地上。现在看起来还好。他拿起它，朝警察局门口走去。与此同时，警官带着刚才接待他的女警察走了出来。那个女人拿着一个纸板箱。所以这就是他们这么久的原因。
警官现在正戴上一副橡胶手套。它们是新的，是鲜绿色的。老方注意到那个女人也戴着手套。
Is it necessary? He thought briefly. He looked at them, waiting for them to take over the bird but they just stood there. The man mumbled something like “I do not want to touch it.”
Lao Fang put the bird in the box. “Thank you,” the woman said. “Thank YOU,” said Lao Fang.
Lao Fang left the police station with much relief. He had done something right and something good. He felt proud.
As he walked into the library, however, the bright green color of the gloves of the police officer flashed in front of his eyes and cold sweat oozed out of his forehead。
The bird! Does it have bird flu?
有必要吗? 他很快地想了想。他看着他们，等着他们来接管那只鸟，但他们只是站在那里。那人含糊地说了句“我不想碰它”之类的话。
老方把鸟放在盒子里。“谢谢你，”女人说。“谢谢你。”老方说。
老方如释重负地离开了派出所。他做了一件正确的好事。他感到很自豪。
然而，当他走进图书馆时，警察的绿色手套在他眼前闪过，冷汗从他的额头上冒了出来。
这只鸟! 它有禽流感吗?
2009 原英文
2024 翻译