將愛放飛——令愛長駐的妙法

There was once a lonely girl who longed so much for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving songbirds. She took them home and put them in a small cage. She cared them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a wonderful song. The girl felt great love for the birds.

從前，有個寂寞的女孩非常渴望愛。一天，她走在叢林中，發現兩只快要餓死的小鳥。她把它們帶回家，放入一個小籠子。經她悉心照料，鳥兒一天天強壯起來。每天早晨，鳥兒都要用美妙的歌聲向她表示問候。女孩不由得愛上了這兩只小鳥。

One day the girl left the door of the cage open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl was so frightened that he would fly away. As he flew close，she grasped him wildly. Her heart felt glad at her success in capturing him. Suddenly she felt the bird go limp. She opened her hand and stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate love had killed him.

一天，女孩敞開了鳥籠的小門。那只較大較壯的鳥兒飛出了鳥籠。女孩非常害怕鳥兒會飛走。鳥兒飛近時，她死命將它抓住。她十分高興，終于又把它捉了回來。突然間，她感覺到鳥兒四肢無力。她張開手，驚恐地盯著手中的死鳥。她不顧一切的愛害死了鳥兒。

She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. He needed to soar into the clear，blue sky. She lifted him from the cage and tossed him softly into the air. The bird circled once， twice，three times.

她注意到另一只鳥兒在籠邊撲閃著翅膀。她可以感覺到它對自由的無限向往。它渴望沖向明凈的藍天。她將它舉起，輕輕拋向空中。鳥兒盤旋了一圈，兩圈，三圈。

The girl watched delightedly at the bird’s enjoyment. Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss. She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest melody that she had ever heard.

看到鳥兒快樂的樣子，女孩很高興。她的內心不再計較自己的得失。她希望鳥兒幸福。突然，鳥兒飛近了，輕輕落在她的肩上，唱起了她從未聽過的最動人的歌。

The fastest way to lose love is to hold on it too tight ；the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

失去愛的方法，最快莫過于將其牢牢地抓在手心；令愛長駐的方法，最好莫過于賦予它一雙翅膀——將愛放飛！

選自《最美的英文100篇》