英譯《第一次真好》

原文作者介紹：

周素珊，筆名畢璞，畢璞是周素珊女士用了四十年的筆名。曾任《大華晚報》及《征信新聞報》（《中國時報》前身）家庭版主編，《公論報》副刊主編，《婦友月刊》總編輯等職，現已退休專心從事創作。她的文章清新雅麗，在平淡中蘊含著哲理，言之有物，非一般花拳繡腿者可比。畢璞已出版的著作有39篇。

《第一次真好》原文

路過人家的墻下，偶一抬頭，看見一棵結實累累的柚子樹。一顆顆碩大的黃綠色柚子，沉甸甸垂吊在枝頭。這景色不見得很美，卻是一幅秋日風情畫。

我是個生長在都市，從來不曾享受過田園生活的俗子。除了木瓜樹以外，所有結實累累的果樹，都只能夠在圖畫、照片、電視和電影中看到。今天第一次看到這棵果實如此豐碩的柚子樹，霎時間，心頭充滿了喜悅與新奇。

第一次真好，第一次的感覺真奇妙。細細回想：在你的生命中，有多少“第一次”值得你低回品味？有多少“第一次”給你留下不可磨滅的印象？

幾年前，家中第一次養了一籠十姊妹。當母鳥第一次生下了幾顆玲瓏剔透，比小指頭還小的鳥蛋以后，我和孩子們便眼巴巴地等候小鳥孵出來。有一天，我們正在吃午飯，孩子忽然大叫：“小鳥孵出來了?！蔽殷@喜地走到鳥籠邊一看，在鳥巢里面的所謂小鳥，只是兩團小小的粉紅色肉球，僅僅具有鳥的雛形，身上只有稀疏的幾根毛，兩只黑黑的眼睛卻奇大。第一次看到剛孵出來的雛鳥，但覺它們的樣子很難看，竟因此而吃不下飯?？墒牵鹊剿鼈儩u漸長大，羽毛漸豐，一切都具體而微以后，我喜愛它們又甚于那些老鳥。

第一次的感覺真奇妙。第一次去露營，第一次動手做飯，第一次坐火車，第一次坐飛機，第一次看見雪，第一次看到自己的作品用鉛字印出來……第一次的經驗不一定都愉快，但新鮮而刺激，使人回味無窮。

生命中的第一次愈多，生命也就愈益多姿多彩。愿你珍重第一次。

How Nice the First Time

◎Zhou Sushan

When I walked past a household，I happened to see a pomelo tree bearing lots of fruits over my head. Many heavy yellowish green pomelos were hanging from the branches，which formed an autumn picture，though it was not very beautiful.

For a common man like me who was born and brought up in a city，I have never enjoyed the country life. Except for papaya trees，I knew all kinds of fruit trees with fruits by way of pictures or photos，TV programs and movies. Today is the first time that I have seen such an abundant pomelo tree. Instantly，my heart was brimming with joy and novelty.

The first time is so nice and makes you feel so wonderful. Please think about it carefully，how many “first times” are worth recollecting？ How many first times have left an indelible impression on your mind？

Several years ago，we kept a cage of red-billed leithrixes for the first time. When the mother bird laid several dainty and exquisite eggs that were even smaller than our little fingers，both my children and I were eagerly waiting for them to be hatched. One day，when we were having lunch，one of my children shouted，“The baby birds have been hatched.” I was amazed and walked to the cage. The so-called baby birds were just two small pink flash balls in its embryonic form. They only had a few hairs on its body and their eyes were black and too big. It was the first time that I had seen the newly hatched birds，but they were so ugly as to have spoiled my appetite. Nevertheless，as they grew up and fledged，I love them more than the elderly ones.

The feeling of the first time—the first time to camp out，to cook，to take a train，to take an airplane，to see the snow or to see my own writing published—is very marvellous. Although all the first experiences are not always pleasant，they must be fresh，exiting and worth recalling.

The more first times you have in your life，the more colorful life you will have. May you treasure every first time in your life.