Chapter 15 Twelve all things are spiritual

Twelve all things are spiritual tadpole one Every time I put down my pen, when I was taking a nap on the window, I looked down and saw a foreign porcelain washbasin with a blue pattern on the edge of the flower bed in the courtyard, beside many flower pots.When I first saw it, I thought it was deposited by a laundryman by accident.On the edge of the gray and simple flower bed, next to many simple tile flower pots, there is an exquisite foreign porcelain wash basin made by machinery and decorated with modern patterns. From the perspective of painting, it is very incongruous. If There is a piece of drawing paper unfolded under my eyes, and I really want to find an eraser to wipe it off.

One day, two days, three days, the Yangci washbasin can be placed on the edge of the flower bed.This means that it is not deposited by accident, but has a mission.When I was about to look out of the window at night, I saw the children who came out of school gathered under the wall to play football.I wanted to know the meaning of the Yangci washbasin, so I asked them.Only then did I realize that there were tadpoles in the basin, which they had caught from the fields during the spring break.I haven't come to the courtyard for a long time to take a closer look, and I didn't know that my house recently raised these small animals; and because the blue patterns in the basin were small and numerous, and tadpoles were mixed among them, I looked down from the window and couldn't see them at all. come out.Tadpoles were something I loved to play with when I was a child, and they were the things I was most interested in in textbooks when I was a schoolboy. Speaking of bringing up various memories, I went downstairs to look at them wholeheartedly.

The Yangci washbasin is half filled with clear water, and there are more than a dozen tadpoles the size of melon seeds, with their tails shaking, swimming around in a hurry, as if they are looking for something.When the children saw me admiring their work, they gathered around and told me all kinds of things about this work proudly: "It was caught from the field at Dajingtou." "It was caught on Qingming day." "We brought it in our hands." "We change the water every day." "It looks like a black goldfish." "This is cuter than a goldfish!"

"Why do they keep swimming around?" "Why don't they turn into frogs?" Their questions reminded me that the exquisite and lively little animal in front of me suddenly became a symbol of depression. I see this oceanic washbasin is like a desert of tadpoles.They swim around incessantly in search of food.They don't turn into frogs for a long time because they don't have a place to live.In the past few nights, the sound of the ensemble of frog drums in the nearby fields has already reached my bed.Had these tadpoles had ears, they would have heard the songs of their own kind too.It must be sad to hear it, and I don’t know how to cry in this Yangci basin every night!They have a protective color like soil and water plants, and they only live and grow in paddy fields with moist soil and rich moss.There is their nourishment, their resting-places, their playgrounds, and their companions in great numbers.Now caught by these children, they are locked in this ocean basin, surrounded by hard iron, and soaked in thin white water. What they touch are either victims of the same fate or cold enamel.No matter how busy they are, they can't find something to protect them, comfort them, or give birth to them.This is an endless desert for them.As larvae, they will die silently in this ocean basin, without any growth and change, and the joyous hope of singing and dancing in the green grass pond is gone.

This is a symbol of depression, this is a symbol of the soul of a person under a certain life! two I advised the children: "Just keep the tadpoles in the clear water in the ocean basin. They will not have enough nutrients and a place to grow. They will never become frogs. They will all starve to death in this ocean basin! Don't be tadpoles. They look at it as goldfish! Goldfish are fish and can live in water for a lifetime; tadpoles are larvae of amphibians. Swimming around looking for food and soil, but finding nothing, how pitiful!" The children were moved by my words, and frowningly looked into the Yangci basin.Several people asked me, "So, what should I do?"

I said, "It's best to send them home—take them and dump them in the field. When you go to visit them in a few days, they've all turned into frogs. Brother, brother, I'm calling you." The children all agreed with joy, and two of them carried the Yangci washbasin and wanted to send them home immediately. I said: "It's getting late, let's keep them overnight and send them back tomorrow. Now go to the flower bed and get some mud that they like, and put it in the basin so that they can eat and play. You can also let them eat. They know that we don't abuse them anymore, we treat them as guests first, and escort them home tomorrow."

The children immediately went to hold the mud and threw the mud into the basin one after another.Some people shouted: "Gently, gently! Look at crushing them!" Soon, the blue pattern in the bottom of the Yangci basin was covered by the soil.Those tadpoles all got into the mud, and none of them could be seen.A child searched for a long time, frowned and said: "Don't you want to crush them to death?" Then he reached into the water and took a piece of mud to look. But I saw four tadpoles densely packed in the mud hole on the bottom of the basin, with their four heads together and their tails radiating outward, as if they were eating something or talking together there.Suddenly a tadpole shook its tail and swam away in a hurry.Swimmed to another mud hole for a while, brought another tadpole out, and returned to the original place.

When five people gathered together, the five tails shook together, forming five radial curves, which looked very beautiful.The children yelled and woke up.I also temporarily forgot my age, and yelled a few times in echo of their voices. Then several people asked in unison: "We don't want to send them home, we want to keep them here!" I also had such a request in terms of emotions at the time; but I felt in a dilemma, and I had no words to answer them for a while, and smiled hesitantly. .A child suddenly realized: "Okay! Let's dig a small pond in the corner and fill it with water like in the field, and raise them there. When they grow up, they become frogs and jump around on the ground in the corner." Go." Everyone clapped their hands and said "Okay!" I echoed and said "Okay!" The older child immediately found a small hoe for planting flowers and plowed into the mud in the corner.Soon, a pond the size of a washbasin was cultivated.Everyone said: "It's big enough, it's big enough!" In the small pond.At first it was full of water, then it was absorbed by the soil and gradually became shallower.Everyone said: "The water is not enough, the water is not enough." The younger child wanted to carry the water again, but the older child said: "No need, no need, we just need to pour the water, mud and tadpoles from the ocean basin into the pond. That's right." Everyone agrees.The relocation of tadpoles is thus completed.

It was dark, and the lights were on inside the house.Many children each brought a pair of clay hands, went back into the house happily, and shouted back: "Tadpole, goodbye!" "Tadpole, goodbye!" "Come see you tomorrow!" "Come see you tomorrow!" A small child continued, "Maybe they will become frogs tomorrow." three The tadpoles in the ocean basin were relocated by the children to the newly opened pond in the corner.The children are full of hope, waiting for them to turn into frogs.I thought wistfully of the four little tadpoles that were abandoned in a hotel in Shanghai a few days ago.

This year's Tomb-sweeping Day, I will send it off in my travels.I've lived in the country for too long, I'm a little tired, and I want to adjust it.In this Qingming season, I became a pedestrian on the road.It was spring break, and a child followed me.The next day of Qingming, we came to Shanghai.The ten-mile foreign market is boring at first glance, but it is interesting to go to the tea shop in the Temple of the City God and buy sporadic things.The child took a fancy to the tadpoles kept in a glass bottle in a corner of the market, and pointed to buy them.I bought it for ten copper coins.Then I put my thumb on the hole in the bottle and took it back to the hotel in the rickshaw.

Back at the hotel, I put the bottle of tadpoles on the table under the lamp, and I thought it was very unique: it really looks like a bottle of goldfish, and there are four of them in total.Although the color is not as beautiful as goldfish, its swimming posture is more lively and lovely than goldfish.When they lie on the side of the bottle, we can perceive that their actual size is only half a melon seed.But when they swim to the center of the bottle, the convex mirror of the glass bottle and the water magnifies their shape, and the changes are reflected in our eyes, which looks very beautiful.And it is even more strange to see this thing under the fifty photoelectric lights upstairs in the hotel in this city.This is something Kasuga Tanaka has a lot of.If you are in the country, you can use as much as you want, and you might as well measure it in buckets.But in this city where there is no natural face, the four melon seeds that are not as big as half a melon seed are already rare. It is really pitiful to put them in glass bottles and admire them as goldfish.And we, who used to live by the fields in the countryside, left the countryside on this Ching Ming Festival and came to appreciate the four little tadpoles in a glass bottle on the mansion in the center of the world.It's like a rich man abandoning his family's wine pool and meat forest to join the poor team to eat flatbread and fried dough sticks; it's also like an emperor abandoning the three thousand in the Shangyuan and going to the people to drill holes and peek at the wall. One night, while I was resting in bed, the child was playing with the glass bottle on the table and accidentally broke it.The water flooded on the table, with large and small glass shards inside, and the tadpoles squirmed in the water marks on the table, like fish in a dry rut.The way to deal with the aftermath is to save lives first.I first took a teacup, went to the waiter to ask for some cold water, and gently put the four tadpoles on the table into the teacup, and offered them on the mirror stand.Then pick up the shards of glass one by one and wipe the table dry.After about half an hour of hustle and bustle, the aftermath was finally finished.I went to the mirror and looked at the four tadpoles in the teacup. They were all in good health, and they were still swimming around, but their bodies seemed smaller, and they seemed to be no longer the original tadpoles.When it was kept in a glass bottle before, because of the function of a convex mirror, its shape changed from big to small, changing a lot, and it was much more beautiful.Now pouring it into a teacup and looking at it, I feel that it is just four tadpoles in an ordinary rural field, which is completely insignificant.The city is really a place full of guns and flowers, and ordinary things are extraordinary once they are in the city.The bustling world of this ten-mile foreign market is probably all reflected in such a strange way by the convex mirror of the glass bottle.Once the glass bottle is accidentally broken, I'm afraid it's just four tadpoles in an ordinary rural field. A few days later, someone from the family came to play Shanghai again.Our room was too small, so we changed to a bigger room.Adults and children, plus the waiter, moved the clothes in a hurry.Immediately after moving, go out to see Shanghai.In terms of economical time, I run outside all day long, travel by car, buy things, visit friends, play, and seldom sit in the hotel, but completely forget the four little tadpoles in the teacup on the mirror table in the small room ; until a few days after returning home, when he saw the tadpoles in the Yangci basin beside the flower table, Fang Ran recalled it.Now the children are relocating the tadpoles in the ocean basin to the newly opened small pond in the corner, waiting for them to turn into frogs with full of hope.I thought more sadly of the four tadpoles abandoned in the hotel in Shanghai.I don't know how they turned out? Perhaps they have been dumped into the spittoon by the waiter Miaosheng, and died in the trash can? Miaosheng likes golden bells. Last year, he wanted to raise two pairs of golden bells for the winter. Every time I came to this hotel, he always showed me his beef tendon box and told me all kinds of things about golden bells. .Maybe he can extend his love for Jin Lingzi to these four tadpoles and raise them for us. It is unknown whether the lives of these four tadpoles still exist in the world. However I wish they didn't exist.If it still exists, the more sad it is to think of it!They are not goldfish and would not like to live in a glass bottle for human viewing.They count on growing, developing, becoming frogs singing and dancing in the bosom of nature.The hometown they long for is a field full of water and grass, sticky spring mud, and a pond of green grass reflecting the sky and clouds.Now they are kept in the center of this commercial metropolis, beside stone roads, on the upper floors of iron-bar buildings, in cages made of cement, in small magnetic teacups, except for a spoonful of water from the tap. In addition, there are magnets, bricks, stones, iron, steel, glass, wires, and soot all around, all things that are not suitable for their life but enough to kill them.There is nothing more desolate, cruel, and miserable in the world than this.It is a symbol of anguish, a symbol of the human soul beneath a certain life! If someone comes to report to me that these four tadpoles do still exist in that hotel, for the sake of symbolic significance, I plan to set off immediately and go to the hotel to rescue them and put them in the grass pond. willow Because there are many willows in my paintings, some people say that I like willows; because some people say that I like willows, I seem to feel that I really have a predestined relationship with willows.But I also asked Xin, why do I like willows?What is the deep relationship with the willow tree?Its answer is beyond reach. It turned out that this was completely accidental: I lived on Baima Lake in the past, and saw people planting willows by the lake. I asked them for a small plant and planted it in the corner of the apartment.That's why I named this house "Small Willow House", and I often used the familiar willow as a painting material, so some people said that I like willows, so I seem to feel that I have a predestined relationship with willows.If people were planting thorns by the lake at that time, maybe I would have named the house "Little Thorn House", and it is unknown if I painted thorns and became related to thorns.This is often the case in the world. But if I really want to become attached to Yangliu, I don't say what I said above, but I can attach various reasons to it.Or I love its light yellow and tender green, or I love its intoxicating dance, or I love it like Xiaoman's waist, or I love that it is grown by Tao Yuanming's house, or it can be imported." The poems of "the guest house is green", the words "the tree is like this", and various classics such as "the appearance of Wang Gong" and "the god of Zhang Xu" are used as the reasons for my love of willows.It is easy to find three hundred high-sounding, elegant and profound reasons.Things in the world are often like this. Maybe I once said "I love willows" to people.But this is also random.It's as if I bought a pair of black socks to wear on my feet by chance, and when someone asked me "Why do I wear black socks", I would say "I like wearing black socks" to him.In fact, I have never been interested in flowers and trees; even if I have them, I am not attached to them.This is because I grew up in a poor village, and only saw mulberry, millet, tobacco, cotton, wheat, and soybeans, and I had never been close to a garden full of flowers.I have only seen beautiful names such as "crape myrtle", "red apricot", "peony" and "peony" in a few old books, but it is rare to get close to the owners of these names.It’s not that I’ve never seen them before, just because they often disappoint me when I see them. I don’t believe that they are the crape myrtle flowers that I once loved to Ziwei Lang, the red apricots that once made Shangshu famous, the peonies that used to be drunk by beauties, or the peonies that symbolize wealth. .I think they are just a few kinds of plants, but they are rarer and more expensive, and there is nothing particularly lovely about them. They seem to be unworthy of being praised in poetry, let alone occupy such a noble position among flowers and trees.Therefore, I seem to feel that the famous flower praised in the poem is another kind, not the plant I see now.I have also occasionally visited gorgeous gardens, but I have never seen a scene that is fully worthy of the name "thousands of flowers are like embroidery". If I want to praise a plant now, I still want to praise the willow.But this has nothing to do with Frontier, it’s just my feelings these days, just talking about it on a whim, and it’s not like believing in religion or cultism to convert to it for life.Because the weather was good yesterday, I immersed myself in writing until the evening, so I couldn't help going to the long chair by the West Lake to sit for a while.Seeing the willow trees on the shore of the lake, there seem to be tens of thousands of strings of green beads floating in the warm spring breeze, and there are many slightly curved S-lines floating out. Not at once. It is said that this plant is the cheapest.Cut a branch and stick it in the ground, and it will come alive, and later become a big willow tree.It does not need noble fertilizers or deep cultivation, as long as there is sunlight, soil and water, it will live, and it will grow very strong and beautiful.Peonies eat pig stomach intestines, grape vines eat broth, and many flowers and trees eat bean cakes; but willows don't eat other people's things, so people say it is "cheap".Probably "expensive" means to eat.The more you want to eat more, the more you want to eat well, the more "expensive".It's good to eat a lot but it's useless, it's just for viewing, it seems to be more expensive.For example, peonies are more expensive than grapes, because peonies eat pork belly sausages for viewing only, while grapes eat broth to produce fruit.Willows don't eat people's things, and they have wood for people to use, so they are regarded as "cheap". I praise willow for its beauty, but its beauty is different from that of peony, and different from all other flowers and trees.The main beauty of the willow is its drooping.Most of the flowers and trees develop upwards, red apricots can grow "out of the wall", and ancient trees can grow "towering".It is good to go upwards, but I often see the branches, leaves, flowers and fruits flourishing day by day, and I seem to forget the roots below, and think its appearance is disgusting; you depend on it for sustenance, why just sit on it and ignore it?Your life is built on it, how can you just covet your own glory and never look back at the root in the soil?Most of the flowers and trees are like this. Even the roots below have been chopped off, but the flowers and leaves above are still thriving. It's abominable and pitiful to be there for the last moment of Weifu!Willow doesn't have such a hideous and pitiful appearance: it doesn't know how to grow upwards.It grows fast and is very tall; but the higher it grows, the lower it hangs.Tens of thousands of thin willows on the street do not forget their roots, and often look down at the bottom, borrowing the power of the spring breeze from time to time, to dance or kiss the roots in the soil.It seems that a group of lively children are playing around their loving mother, but they always lean on the loving mother's side or throw themselves into the loving mother's arms, which makes people feel very cute.There are also willow trees that are higher than the wall, but I don't think it's too tall. I can fall because of its height, and I don't forget its origin because of its height. Since ancient times, poetry and prose have often used willows as a main theme of spring.When writing the scene of spring, it is called "thousands of weeping willows", and when writing the scenery of spring, it is called "willow on the street", or even call spring "wicker spring".I think this is not just because the willows are drawn in spring, but because the trees have a special posture that is very harmonious with the peaceful and beautiful spring scenery.The characteristic of this posture is "drooping".Otherwise, there are not many trees that germinate in spring, so why let wicker be the master of spring?It's just because other trees rely on Dongjun's power to go up desperately, blindly getting high, forgetting their own roots, and their greed is not in line with Chun's spirit.The only thing that can best symbolize the spirit of spring is the weeping willow.This is my whim when I saw the willows by the West Lake yesterday.But what I admire is not only the willows on the West Lake.Under the spring light of the past few days, the willows everywhere in the countryside have such admirable gestures.West Lake seems to be too noble, but it is not suitable for planting such "cheap" weeping poplars. vitality I bought a ball of daffodils on New Year's Eve last year. I have grown them for more than two months, and they just bloomed today. The weather this spring is extremely cold, and other flowers and trees are late to sprout, especially my narcissus.Because it came to my house, it suffered several disasters and its vitality was suppressed. The first time I encountered a drought, the situation is as follows: it came to my house on New Year's Eve last year. At that time, because there was no daffodil pot in my other apartment, I went to the porcelain store to buy a pure white disk to support it. .This disk is very large and heavy, so it is not a daffodil pot.According to the old man in the porcelain shop, it is a thing from the Guangxu period, and it is a guy used to hold some special dishes when entertaining guests in the officialdom.It's just because no one will need it later, and it hasn't been sold yet.I think the so-called narcissus pots, rectangular and fan-shaped, are tired of being seen in Chinese paintings in the past, and the forms are not as good-looking as this one.Assuming that this guy is a special daffodil pot for me, I bought it to match my daffodils, and the shape and color are very harmonious.Seeing them green and white under the cold window, they are plain and gratifying. Who would believe that this is something for wine and meat in the officialdom?But they have been separated for less than a month.The reason is that I will go to Shimen Bay to spend the Lunar New Year, and I expect to live in Yuanyuan Hall for more than a month. I hope to bring this daffodil back to see it bloom well.How to bring it?It took a lot of hesitation: I asked the worker Amao to take this pot of daffodils and take the train. I am afraid that some people will say that Amao advocates elegance; it is impossible to put him in a suitcase.So Amao suggested: "Pan'er don't want it, pull up the daffodils, put them in a biscuit box, and take them to the car. It will only take three or four hours to get home, and they won't be killed by drought." I passed.Narcissus bid farewell to Pan and traveled in a biscuit box. When I got home, everyone was very busy, and I also forgot about the daffodils.Three days later, Amao suddenly mentioned it, and I suddenly realized that I was looking for its whereabouts. It turned out that someone had used it as a biscuit and put it on a lime pot.I quickly took it out and saw that the green leaves were haggard and the roots were burnt yellow.Amao said: "Don't interfere." Immediately put it in the old daffodil pot at home, and put some sugar in the water.Fortunately, it did not hinder it, and it was thriving again after a few days. It was the first drought. The second time I was hit by a flood, the situation is as follows: In the narcissus flower pots at home, there were originally many beautifully colored Yuhuatai stones.One morning, the children found out, and the daffodils suffered badly: they said that the pebbles were full of dust, and complained that Amao did the work instead of washing the pebbles first.They pulled up the daffodils and temporarily kept them in a washbasin, poured stones into another washbasin, put them in the sunlight in the corner, and washed them one by one.The stones of Yuhuatai are soaked in water, reflecting the sunlight, the luster, color and pattern are all beautiful.There are a few that can make people imagine "psychic jade".There are more and more people watching, especially children, and girls are the most enthusiastic.They classify the stones according to their shapes, colors, and patterns; then they judge their quality and give each stone a score; finally, they use their shapes and colors to assemble patterns with many stones.After the pattern was finished, they went to eat rice cakes; when the rice cakes were finished, they went to kick the shuttlecock again; after kicking the shuttlecock, they went for a walk again.Until night, Amao found a pattern of stones in the corner of the wall, and exclaimed, "Hey, where did the daffodil go?" Looking around, he found it lying in the washbasin next to the flower bed, soaked in water. inside.After soaking for more than ten hours from morning to night, the green leaves have become swollen and black!Amao said: "Don't get in the way." Then he asked Xiao Shizi to support it, and sat in the narcissus flower pot.It was the second flood. The third time was a frost disaster, and the situation was as follows: Narcissus lived in Yuanyuan Hall for more than a month.In the meantime, the spring is too cold, and there are many tribulations.Its vitality was blocked by these natural disasters and man-made disasters, and it was never able to bloom.It was still in bud until the day before I left Yuanyuantang.I went to make an appointment to come back in late spring, but I was unwilling to see it blooming, so I asked Amao.Amao said: "Tie it on with a rope and carry it away! This time I won't forget it." I agree.So the daffodils hung upside down in Ah Mao's hand and traveled. It arrived at my apartment, still sitting in its original pot.After the rain, there are no flowers. After the stinging sting, there is no flowering.Amao said: "It's because it doesn't bask in the sun." He put it on the balcony and invited it to bask in the sun.This year's spring is very cold. Although there is sunlight on the balcony, there is also a sharp east wind, which makes people unable to stand.So people live indoors and never go to the balcony to see daffodils.No one asked if there was a pot of daffodils missing in the room.Until the next morning, Amao yelled: "Ah! The daffodils were not brought in last night, they were frozen to death!" I saw that the water in the basin was frozen at the bottom, and I couldn't knock it open; the water in the daffodils was also frozen. , whose bulbs are frozen like a white stone, and whose leaves are frozen like many emerald strips.Bring it in quickly, and set it by the fire.Over time, the water in the pot melted, and so did the water in the flowers; but the leaves were so soft that they bent down one by one, with their tip hanging over the water.Amao said: "Wow." I think it is indeed a bit "black", but seeing that its stamens are still standing upright, I think it has not completely lost its vitality, and there is still hope.So I asked Amao, Amao shook his head, and then said: "Put it in the kitchen to warm it up, and I can take care of it often." I agree.Dying daffodils were moved from the room to the kitchen.It was the third frost disaster. Who said daffodils are clear?It also needs pyrotechnics just like ordinary people.Since it was moved into the kitchen, the leaves have gradually raised their heads, and the flower buds have gradually unfolded.The flowers are blooming very well today!Amao sent it back, and I was overjoyed when I saw it.This big fast is not just for daffodils.As long as the vitality of the human world is not extinguished, even if it is temporarily suppressed by natural and man-made disasters, there will be a day when it will rise.This is true of personal affairs, family affairs, and national and ethnic affairs. white goose Eight months and ten days after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, I sold the hut I built myself three years ago in Miaowan, Shapingba, Chongqing, and moved to the city to wait for my return ship. Except for the three years of Topi's affection, I really have no nostalgia for this hut.Because this house is too simple and the environment is too desolate; I go to the house like an abandoned house.It is a white goose raised in the house that makes me never forget it. This white goose was given to me by a friend who will travel far.This friend lives in Beibei, and specially brought this goose from Beibei to Chongqing to give it to me.I personally took this big snow-white bird home and put it in the yard.It stretched its head and neck, looking left and right.When I saw this posture, I thought: "What a proud animal!" The animal's head is the most important part.The shape of this part can best indicate the character of the animal.For example, lions and tigers have big heads, indicating their strength.Kylins and camels all have high heads, which means they are superb.The heads of wolves, orphans, dogs, etc. are all pointed, which means that they are mean and despicable.Pigs, tortoises, etc. all have shrunken heads, which means they are stubborn and stupid.The head of the goose is taller in proportion than that of the camel, and similar to the unicorn, which is an expression of superb character.And in its barking, gait, and eating, it shows a kind of arrogance. The cry of a goose is roughly similar to that of a duck, both of which are natural, but the pitch is quite different.The tone of the duck's "Ga Ga" is trivial and cheerful, with the meaning of being cautious; the tone of the goose's "Ga Ga" is serious and solemn, like a sharp scolding. Its old owner told me: Raising geese is like raising dogs, and it can also guard the door.Later I saw that it was true: whenever a stranger came in, the goose would scream loudly; even if someone walked outside the fence, it would have to bark loudly, and its barking was as severe as a dog's barking.The dog's barking is specially used for strangers or nighters; when it sees the owner, the dog will shake its head and tail, and beg for mercy.The geese yelled at everyone, and when they asked for food, it sounded like the uncle scolding the little emissary because he thought the meal was too late. The gait of the goose is even more arrogant.This is also similar to ducks in general.But the duck's pace is fast, showing signs of embarrassment.The geese's steps are calm and dignified, quite like the appearance of a net character in a Ping opera.This is exactly the performance of its arrogant character.When we approach a chicken or a duck, the chicken or duck must give in and run away.It is a sign of fear of people. So it is not easy for us to catch chickens or ducks.That goose is not the case: it stands proudly and simply refuses to give way when it sees people approaching; sometimes instead of giving way, it stretches its neck out to bite you.This means that it is not afraid of people and looks down on people.But this arrogance is ultimately arrogance.As soon as we reach out, we can grab its neck and dispose of it at will. Among domestic animals, the most proud and easy to catch is the goose. The eating of geese often makes us laugh.Our geese eat cold rice, three meals a day.It needs three things to eat: one is water, the other is mud, and the other is grass.Eat a mouthful of cold rice first, then a mouthful of water, and then go to a certain place to eat a mouthful of mud and grass.Probably these mud and grass also have various flavors, it is selected according to its appetite.This food is not extravagant; but the way it is eaten is meticulous and meticulous.For example, after eating a mouthful of food, if the water basin is accidentally placed far away, it will surely stride forward calmly, take a sip of water, and then stride to a certain place to eat mud and grass.Eat mud and grass and come back for dinner.To eat in such a leisurely manner, someone must be there to wait on you, like a waiter in a restaurant.Because the dogs nearby all know the temper of our master goose. Whenever he eats, the dog hides by the fence and watches.When it had a mouthful of food and walked squarely to drink water, mud and grass, the dog ran up nimbly and tried hard to eat its food.Before the meal was finished, the goose master accidentally returned early, stretched his neck to bite the dog, and yelled at the dog, and the dog immediately fled to the fence, squatting and waiting; watched it take another bite of food, and then walked away to drink water, grass, and food. When there was mud, the dog ran up nimbly again, and this time he finished his meal and walked away.When the goose came to eat again, the rice jar was empty.The goose raised its head and howled, as if blaming people for not providing enough food.At this time, we will add food for it and stand and wait.Because there are many dogs nearby, one dog went away, and the other came and squatted and watched.There are also many chickens nearby, and they often steal the goose's food on tiptoe.We were so annoyed that we put the rice jar and water basin together so that it would not go away and let the chickens and dogs steal the food.However, the location of the mud and grass it must be filled with food is uncertain.In order to find this feast, it still has to go far.Therefore, when a goose eats, it must be served by someone.It's full of airs! No matter how proud the goose is, we will keep it until the house is sold.Because it contributes to us both materially and spiritually, so that both the mistress and the master are pleased with it.Material offerings are laying eggs.It lays an egg every day or every other day, and a pile of straw is specially set up by the fence. When the goose crouches in the straw, it is about to lay an egg.The little ones in the house were even more excited, standing beside it and waiting.After it gave birth, it got up, strode into the house, and called for dinner loudly.At this time, the children picked up the eggs warmly, hid them behind their backs, and brought them into the house, saying that they were afraid that the geese would be angry if they saw them. Let's talk about my house, which is really very simple: within the fence, the land is twenty square feet, and the house only occupies six square feet.On these six square feet, there are three "anti-construction style" flat houses, each of which is divided into two rooms at the front and back, and there are six rooms in total, each room is an average of one square foot.There is one in the center, the front room is quite large, about a square foot and a half weak, it can be regarded as a dining hall and a living room;The one on the west side is evenly divided into two, which can be regarded as the kitchen and the workers' room.The one on the east side is equally divided into two. The back room is also my family's bedroom, and the front room is my study and bedroom.For three years, I have been sitting and writing, all in this abbot.Gui Xifu said in "Xiang Jixuan Ji": "The room is only the abbot, and it can accommodate one person." He also said: "Yuze places a bet, and every time a case is transferred, there is nothing to care about." I can only think of these words. Sometimes, I feel satisfied.Although my house is not leaky, the walls are made of bamboo and are very thin.After nine o'clock in summer, the east wall is very hot, and the room seems to have opened a hot tub.At this time, the anti-religious people want to call the police, but they can go to the basement six to seven feet deep to cool off. In the courtyard within the bamboo fence, there are rocks under the thin layer of mud, and only tomatoes, broad beans, plantains, etc. can be planted, but no trees can be planted.Beyond the bamboo fence, the slopes and rocks are undulating, full of wilderness.Therefore, the hut is naked, lonely and without shelter; from a distance, it looks like a pavilion.I sit in it for many years, just like a pavilion chief.This place is about miles away from the street, the path is winding, it is not easy to find, and there are very few visitors. In one of Du's poems, "there are few passages in a quiet and modest place", this house can be deserved.On a stormy day, the road is muddy, and dogs don't bother to walk through it, and the environment is even more desolate.The feeling of tranquility in these days is still terrible in retrospect. After the hut was completed, I resigned my teaching post and resumed my pre-war homely life.I have very little contact with the outside world, just reading and painting, drinking and chatting every day.My time is all my own.This is the requirement of my character, which is what I consider happy.However, this happiness requires two conditions: in peacetime, in the city.Now during the Anti-Japanese War, in the deserted village, this happiness is accompanied by a kind of depression - tranquility.In order to avoid this depression, I planted beans, vegetables, raised pigeons and geese in the yard when I was not reading or painting.And the geese impressed me the most.Because it has such a huge body, such a white color, such a majestic cry, such an imposing attitude, such a proud temper, and such ridiculous behavior.In this desolate and quiet environment, the goose has become a focal point.On a day of bleak wind and rain, when hands are tired and weary, one looks through the window, and there is no life; but only this great snow-white thing, with its amber beak raised high, walks proudly in the rain, like an armed guard, which makes the hut unique. Guaranteed, this courtyard has a master, and this environment has vitality. A few days before my hut changed hands, I gave this goose to a friend who lives in Xiaolongkan.Within a few days after sending it out, I felt quite strange.It is exactly the same feeling that happens when you say goodbye to someone, but in a lesser degree.It turns out that all living beings have the same root, and all flesh and blood have the same feeling.Therefore, this bird is more touching and more memorable than this house.现在我写这篇短文，就好比为一个永诀的朋友立传，写照。 这鹅的旧主人姓夏名宗禹，现在与我邻居着。 １９４６年夏于重庆 salute 象吃药一般喝了一大碗早已吃厌的牛奶，又吞了一把围棋子似的、洋钮扣似的肺病特效药。早上的麻烦已经对付过去。儿女们都出门去办公或上课了，太太上街去了，劳动大姐在不知什么地方，屋子里很静。我独自关进书房里，坐在书桌前面。这是一天精神最好的时光。这是正好潜心工作的时光。 今天要译的一段原文，文章极好，译法甚难。但是昨天晚上预先看过，躺在床里预先计划过句子的构造，所以今天的工作并不很难，只要推敲各句里面的字眼，就可以使它变为中文。右手握着自来水笔，左手拿着香烟，书桌左角上并列着一杯茶和一只烟灰缸。眼睛看着笔端，热中于工作，左手常常误把香烟灰落在茶杯里，幸而没有把烟灰缸当作茶杯拿起来喝。茶里加了香烟灰，味道有些特别，然而并不讨厌。 译文告一段落，我放下自来水笔，坐在椅子里伸一伸腰。 眼梢头觉得桌子上右手所靠的地方有一件小东西在那里蠢动。仔细一看，原来是一个受了伤的蚂蚁：它的脚已经不会走路，然而躯干无伤，有时翘起头来，有时翻转肚子来，有时鼓动着受伤的脚，企图爬走，然而一步一蹶，终于倒下来，全身乱抖，仿佛在绝望中挣扎。啊，这一定是我闯的祸！我热中于工作的时候，没有顾到右臂底下的蚂蚁。我写完了一行字迅速把笔移向第二行上端的时候，手臂象汽车一样突进，然而桌子上没有红绿灯和横道线，因此就把这蚂蚁碾伤了。它没有拉我去吃警察官司，然而我很对不起它，又没有办法送它进医院去救治，奈何，奈何！ 然而反复一想，这不能完全怪我。谁教它走到我的工场里来，被机器碾伤呢？它应该怪它自己，我恕不负责。不过，一个不死不活的生物躺在我眼睛前面，心情实在非常不快。我想起了昨天所译的一段文章："假定有百苦交加而不得其死的人；在没有生的价值的本人自不必说，在旁边看护他的亲人恐怕也会觉得杀了他反而慈悲吧。"（见夏目漱石著《旅宿》） 我想：我伸出一根手指去，把这百苦交加而不得其死的蚂蚁一下子捻死，让它脱了苦，不是慈悲吗？然而我又想起了某医生的话："延长寿命，是医生的天职。"又想起故乡的一句俗语："好死勿如恶活。"我就不肯行此慈悲。况且，这蚂蚁虽然受伤，还在顽强地挣扎，足见它只是局部残废，全体的生活力还很旺盛，用指头去捻死它，怎么使得下手呢？犹豫不决，耽搁了我的工作。最后决定：我只当不见，只当没有这回事。我把稿纸移向左些，管自继续做我的翻译工作。让这个自作孽的蚂蚁在我的桌子上挣扎，不管我事。 翻译工作到底重大，一个蚂蚁的性命到底藐小；我重新热中于工作之后，竟把这事件完全忘记了。我用心推敲，频频涂改，仔细地查字典，又不断地抽香烟。忙了一大阵之后，工作又告一段落，又是放下自来水笔，坐在椅子里伸一伸腰。 眼梢头又觉得桌子右角上离开我两尺光景的地方有一件小东西在那里蠢动。望去似乎比蚂蚁大些，并且正在慢慢地不断地移动，移向桌子所靠着的窗下的墙壁方面去。我凑近去仔细察看。啊哟，不看则已，看了大吃一惊！原来是两个蚂蚁，一个就是那受伤者，另一个是救伤者，正在衔住了受伤者的身体而用力把他（自此不用它）拖向墙壁方面去。然而这救伤者的身体不比受伤者大，他衔着和自己同样大小的一个受伤者而跑路，显然很吃力，所以常常停下来休息。有时衔住了他的肩部而走路，走了几步停下来，回过身来衔住了他的一只脚而走路；走了几步又停下来，衔住了另一只脚而继续前进。停下来的时候，两人碰一碰头，仿佛谈几句话。也许是受伤者告诉他这只脚痛，要他衔另一只脚；也许是救伤者问他伤势如何，拖得动否。受伤者有一两只脚伤势不重，还能在桌上支撑着前进，显然是体谅救伤者太吃力，所以勉力自动，以求减轻他的负担。因为这样艰难，所以他们进行的速度很缓，直到现在还离开墙壁半尺之远。这个救伤者以前我并没有看到。想来是我埋头于翻译的期间，他跑出来找寻同伴，发见这个同伴受了伤躺在桌子上，就不惜劳力，不辞艰苦，不顾冒险，拚命地扶他回家去疗养。这样藐小的动物，而有这样深挚的友爱之情、这样慷慨的牺牲精神、这样伟大的互助精神，真使我大吃一惊！同时想起了我刚才看不起他，想捻死他，不理睬他，又觉得非常抱歉，非常惭愧！ 鲁迅先生曾经看见一个黄包车夫的身体大起来。我现在也是如此：忽然看见桌子角上这两个蚂蚁大起来，大起来，大得同山一样，终于充塞于天地之间，高不可仰了。同时又觉得我自己的身体小起来，小起来，终于小得同蚂蚁一样了。我站起身来，向这两个蚂蚁立正，举起右手，行一个敬礼。 １９５６年１２月１３日作于上海 Ami 阿咪者，小白猫也。十五年前我曾为大白猫"白象"写文。白象死后又曾养一黄猫，并未为它写文。最近来了这阿咪，似觉非写不可了。盖在黄猫时代我早有所感，想再度替猫写照。但念此种文章，无益于世道人心，不写也罢。黄猎短命而死之后，写文之念遂消。直至最近，友人送了我这阿咪，此念复萌，不可遏止。率尔命笔，也顾不得世道人心了。 阿咪之父是中国猫，之母是外国猫。故阿咪毛甚长，有似兔子。想是秉承母教之故，态度异常活泼。除睡觉外，竟无片刻静止。地上倘有一物，便是它的游戏伴侣，百玩不厌。 人倘理睬它一下，它就用姿态动作代替言语，和你大打交道。 此时你即使有要事在身，也只得暂时撇开，与它应酬一下；即使有懊恼在心，也自会忘怀一切，笑逐颜开。哭的孩子看见了阿咪，会破涕为笑呢。 我家平日只有四个大人和半个小孩。半个小孩者，便是我女儿的干女儿，住在隔壁，每星期三天宿在家里，四天宿在这里，但白天总是上学。因此，我家白昼往往岑寂，写作的埋头写作，做家务的专心家务，肃静无声，有时竟象修道院。自从来了阿咪，家中忽然热闹了。厨户里常有保姆的话声或骂声，其对象便是阿咪。室中常有陌生的笑谈声，是送信人或邮递员在欣赏阿咪。来客之中，送信人及邮递员最是枯燥，往往交了信件就走，绝少开口谈话。自从家里有了阿咪，这些客人亲昵得多了。常常因猫而问长问短，有说有笑，送出了信件还是留连不忍遽去。 访客之中，有的也很枯燥无味。他们是为公事或私事或礼貌而来的，谈话有的规矩严肃，有的噜苏疙瘩，有的虚空无聊，谈完了天气之后只得默守冷场。然而自从来了阿咪，我们的谈话有了插曲，有了调节，主客都舒畅了。有一个为正经而来的客人，正在侃侃而谈之时，看见阿咪姗姗而来，注意力便被吸引，不能再谈下去，甚至我问他也不回答了。又有一个客人向我叙述一件颇伤脑筋之事，谈话冗长曲折，连听者也很吃力。谈至中途，阿咪蹦跳而来，无端地仰卧在我面前了。这客人正在愤慨之际，忽然转怒为喜，停止发言，赞道："这猫很有趣！"便欣赏它，抚弄它，获得了片时的休息与调节。有一个客人带了个孩子来。我们谈话，孩子不感兴味，在旁枯坐。我家此时没有小主人可陪小客人，我正抱歉，忽然阿咪从沙发下钻出，抱住了我的脚。于是大小客人共同欣赏阿咪，三人就团结一气了。后来我应酬大客人，阿咪替我招待小客人，我这主人就放心了。原来小朋友最爱猫，和它厮伴半天，也不厌倦；甚至被它抓出了血也情愿。因为他们有一共通性：活泼好动。女孩子更喜欢猫，逗它玩它，抱它喂它，劳而不怨。因为他们也有个共通性：娇痴亲昵。 写到这里，我回想起已故的黄猫来了。这猫名叫"猫伯伯"。在我们故乡，伯伯不一定是尊称。我们称鬼为"鬼伯伯"，称贼为"贼伯伯"。故猫也不妨称为"猫伯伯"。大约对于特殊而引人注目的人物，都可讥讽地称之为伯伯。这猫的确是特殊而引人注目的。我的女儿最喜欢它。有时她正在写稿，忽然猫伯伯跳上书桌来，面对着她，端端正正地坐在稿纸上了。她不忍驱逐，就放下了笔，和它玩耍一会。有时它竟盘拢身体，就在稿纸上睡觉了，身体仿佛一堆牛粪，正好装满了一张稿纸。有一天，来了一位难得光临的贵客。我正襟危坐，专心应对。"久仰久仰"，"岂敢岂敢"，有似演剧。忽然猫伯伯跳上矮桌来，嗅嗅贵客的衣袖。我觉得太唐突，想赶走它。贵客却抚它的背，极口称赞："这猫真好！"话头转向了猫，紧张的演剧就变成了和乐的闲谈。后来我把猫伯伯抱开，放在地上，希望它去了，好让我们演完这一幕。岂知过得不久，忽然猫伯伯跳到沙发背后，迅速地爬上贵客的背脊，端端正正地坐在他的后颈上了！这贵客身体魁梧奇伟，背脊颇有些驼，坐着喝茶时，猫伯伯看来是个小山坡，爬上去很不吃力。此时我但见贵客的天官赐福的面孔上方，露出一个威风凛凛的猫头，画出来真好看呢！我以主人口气呵斥猫伯伯的无礼，一面起身捉猫。但贵客摇手阻止，把头低下，使山坡平坦些，让猫伯伯坐得舒服。如此甚好，我也何必做杀风景的主人呢？于是主客关系亲密起来，交情深入了一步。 可知猫是男女老幼一切人民大家喜爱的动物。猫的可爱，可说是群众意见。而实际上，如上所述，猫的确能化岑寂为热闹，变枯燥为生趣，转懊恼为欢笑；能助人亲善，教人团结。即使不捕老鼠，也有功于人生。那么我今为猫写照，恐是未可厚非之事吧？猫伯伯行年四岁，短命而死。这阿咪青春尚只三个月。希望它长寿健康，象我老家的老猫一样，活到十八岁。这老猫是我的父亲的爱物。父亲晚酌时，它总是端坐在酒壶边。父亲常常摘些豆腐干喂它。六十年前之事，今犹历历在目呢。 １９６２年仲夏于上海作