The Two Roads 两条路的抉择

It was New Year’s night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal—the tomb. He had already passed sixty, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind empty, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads—one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I’ll choose the better way!” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

He saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered in life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honoured and happy on this New Year’s night.

The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents’ early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lives. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days! Come back!”

And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year’s night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

【日积月累】

mournful adj. 悲伤的

remorse n. 悔恨

resound v. 回响

hiss v. 嘶嘶作声

grief n. 悲痛

【参考译文】

这是新年之夜。一个老人站在橱窗边，他睁开悲伤的眼睛注视着深蓝色的天空，只见繁星如同那白色的百合在清澈平静的湖面上漂浮着。接着，他又把视线转向地面，他看见有几个比他更无助的人正朝着他们的目的地——坟墓——走去。他已经年过60，而他的人生经历留给他的除了过失和悔恨以外，一无所有。而今他身体很差，精神空虚，内心悲伤，而且他的年迈急需慰藉。

年轻时候的日子仿佛梦一般在他眼前滑过，他想起了当初父亲把他带到那两条路入口的严肃时刻——其中一条通往一个宁静充满阳光的地方，那里繁花盛开，果实累累，到处都是温柔的甜蜜歌声；而另一条路则通往一个深深的黑洞，没有尽头，没有水，只有毒液四溢，魔鬼和毒蛇不断挪动着发出嘶嘶的声音。

他抬起头看着天空痛苦地喊道：“噢，青春，回来吧！噢，父亲，再把我放到那生活的入口吧，我一定选择那条更好的路！”但是，他的父亲以及他年轻时候的日子都已经逝去了。

他看到一颗流星划过天空，消失了，这就是他的象征。悔恨像一枝利箭狠狠地刺进他的心脏。然后他想起了儿童时代的朋友，他们同他一起长大。但他们都已功成名就，在这个新年之夜享受着荣誉和快乐。

高高的教堂塔上的钟声响起了，这让他想起父母当初对他的爱。他们教育他，并向上帝为他祈福。但他选择了一条错误的路。羞愧和悲伤让他不敢看父亲现在身处的天堂。他暗淡的眼睛里充满了泪水，他绝望地爆发出了一声呐喊：“回来，我的青春！回来！”

然后他的青春真的回来了，原来这所有的一切都不过是他在新年之夜所做的一个梦。虽然他的错误是真的，但他依然年轻；他还没有进入那个深深的黑洞，他也仍然可以自由踏上那条通往宁静阳光之地的路。

【人生启迪】

其实人生的选择有时候并不会如同这两条路一样泾渭分明，让人一眼就可以看出未来的归宿。但无论如何，我们不会有这个人一样的幸运，错误选择带来的悲惨命运只是一场梦，梦醒之后依旧可以重新再来。我们要做好无法挽回的心理准备，仔细考虑好之后再做决定，一旦决定了，就不要后悔。