The Last Straw 最后一根稻草
Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds.
——Heb1.10：24
我们要彼此相顾，激发爱心，勉励行善。
-——希伯来书10：24
It was another long，winter afternoon with everyone stuck in the house and the four McDonald children were at it again-bickering，teasing，fighting over their toys.At times like these，Mother was almost ready to believe that her children didn't love each other，though she knew that wasn't really true.All brothers and sisters fight，of course，but lately her little lively bunch had been particularly horrible to each other，especially Eric and Kelly，who were just a year apart.They seemed determined to spend the whole winter making each other miserable.
“Gimme that.It's mine！”“Is not，fatso！I had it first！”
Mother sighed as she listened to the latest argument coming from the living room.With Christmas only a month away，the McDonald house seemed sadly lacking in Christmas spirit.This was supposed to be the season of sharing and love，of warm feelings and happy hearts.A home needed more than just pretty packages or twinkling lights on the tree to fill it with the Christmas spirit.But how could any mother convince her children that being kind to each other was the most important way to get ready for Christmas？
Mother had only one idea.Years ago her grandmother had told her about an old Christmas custom that helped people discover the real meaning of Christmas.Perhaps it would work for her family.It was worth a try.Mother gathered her four little rascals together and sat them down on the stairs，smallest to tallest-Mike，Randi，Kelly and Eric.
“How would you kids like to start a new Christmas project this year？”she asked.“It's like a game，but it can only be played by people who can keep a secret.Can everyone here do that？”“I can！”shouted Eric，wildly waving his arm in the air.“I can keep a secret better than he can，”yelled Kelly，jumping up and waving her arm in the air，too.If this was a contest，she wanted to make sure she beat Eric.“I can do it！”chimed in Randi，not quite sure what was happening but not wanting to be left out.“Me too，me too，me too，”squealed little Mike，bouncing up and down.
“Well then here's how the game works，”Mother explained.“This year we're going to surprise Baby Jesus when he comes on Christmas Eve by making him the softest bed in the world.We're going to build a little crib4 for him to sleep in right here in our house，and we'll fill it with straw to make it comfortable.But here's the catch：Each piece of straw we put in the manger5 will represent one kind thing we do for someone between now and Christmas.The more kind things we do，the more straw there will be for Baby Jesus.The secret part is-we can't tell anyone what good things we're doing and who we're doing them for.”
The children looked confused.“How will Baby Jesus know it's his bed？”asked Kelly.“He'll know，”said Mother.“He'll recognize it by the love we've put into the crib，by how soft it is.”“But who will we do the kind things for？”asked Eric.“It's simple，”said Mother.“We'll do them for each other.Once every week between now and Christmas，we'll put all of our names in this hat，mine and Daddy's too.Then we'll each draw a name and do kind things for that person for a whole week.But here's the hard part.We can't tell anyone whose name we've drawn for that week，and we'll each try to do as many favors as we can for our special person without getting caught.And for every secret good thing we do，we'll put another piece of straw in the crib.”
“But what if I pick someone I don't like？”frowned Kelly.Mother thought about that for a minute.“Maybe you could use extra fat straws for the good things you do for that person，because they might be harder to do.But just think how much faster the fat straws will fill up our crib.Then on Christmas Eve we'll put Baby Jesus in his little bed，and he'll sleep that night on a mattress made of love.I think he'd like that，don't you？”
“Now，who will build the crib for us？”she asked.Since Eric was the oldest，and the only one of the children allowed to use tools，he marched off to the basement to give it a try.For the next couple of hours loud banging and sawing noises came from the basement.Then for a long time there were no noises at all.Finally Eric climbed back up the stairs with the manger in his arms.“Here it is，”he grinned.“The best crib in the world！And I did it all myself.”
For once，everyone agreed：the little manger was the best crib in the world.One leg was an inch too short，of course，and the crib rocked a bit.But it had been built with love-and about a hundred bent nails-and it would certainly last a long time.
At the supper table that night，the six names were written on separate pieces of paper，folded up and shuffled around in an old baseball hat.Then the drawing began.
Kelly picked first and immediately started to giggle.Randi reached into the hat next.Daddy glanced at his scrap of paper and smiled quietly behind his hand.Mother picked out a name，but her face never gave away a clue.Next，little Mike reached into the hat，but since he couldn't read yet，Daddy had to whisper in his ear and tell him which name he had picked.Eric was the last to choose，and as he unfolded his piece of paper a frown crossed his face.But he stuffed the name in his pocket and said nothing.The family was ready to begin.
The week that followed was filled with surprises.It seemed the McDonald house had suddenly been invaded by an army of invisible elves，and good things were happening everywhere.Kelly would walk into her room at bedtime and find her little blue nightgown neatly laid out and her bed turned down.Someone cleaned up the sawdust under the workbench without being asked.The jelly blobs disappeared magically from the kitchen counter after lunch one day while Mother was getting the mail.And every morning，while Eric was brushing his teeth，someone crept quietly into his room and made his bed.It wasn't made perfectly，but it was made.“Where are my shoes？”asked Daddy one morning.No one seemed to know，but before he left for work，they were back in the closet，all shined up.
Mother noticed other changes during that week，too.The children weren't teasing or fighting as much.An argument would start and then suddenly stop for no good reason.Even Eric and Kelly seemed to be getting along better.In fact，all the children wore secret smiles and giggled to themselves at times.
By Sunday，everyone was anxious to pick new names again，and this time there was even more laughter and merriment during the picking process，except for Eric.Once again he unfolded his paper，looked at it，and stuffed it in his pocket without a word.Mother noticed，but said nothing.
The second week of the game brought more amazing events.The garbage was taken out without anyone being asked.Someone even did two of Kelly's hard math problems one night when she left her homework out on the table.The little pile of straw grew higher and softer as the secret elves stepped up their activity.The McDonald home was finally filled with Christmas spirit.Only Eric had been unusually quiet since the third week of name picking.
The final night of name picking was also the night before Christmas Eve.As the family sat around the table waiting for the last set of names to be put in the hat，Mother said，“You've all done a wonderful job.There must be hundreds of straws in our crib-maybe a thousand.You should be so pleased with the bed you've made.But remember，there's still one whole day left.We all have time to do a little more to make the bed even softer before tomorrow night.Let's try.”
For the last time，the hat was passed around the table.Little Mike pulled out a name，and Daddy whispered it to him，just as he had done every week.Randi unfolded hers carefully under the table，peeked at it and hunched up her shoulders，smiling.Kelly reached into the hat and giggled happily when she saw the name.Mother and Daddy each took their turns，too，and then handed the hat with the last name to Eric.But as he unfolded the small scrap of paper and read it，his face pinched up and he suddenly seemed about to cry.Without a word，he ran from the room.
Everyone immediately jumped up from the table，but Mother stopped them.“No，stay where you are，”she said.“Let me talk to him alone first.”Just as she reached the top of the stairs，Eric's door banged open.He was trying to pull his coat on with one hand while he carried a small suitcase with the other hand.“I have to leave，”he said quietly，through his tears.“If I don't，I'll spoil Christmas for everyone！”“But why？And where are you going？”asked Mother.“I can sleep in my snow fort for a couple of days.I'll come home right after Christmas.I promise.”
Mother started to say something about freezing and snow and no mittens or boots，but Daddy，who was now standing just behind her，put his hand on her arm and shook his head.“Give him a few minutes alone，”said Dad quietly.“Then you can talk to him.”The front door closed，and together they watched from the window as the little figure with the sadly slumped shoulders and no hat trudged across the street and sat down on a snowbank near the corner.It was very dark outside，and cold，and a few snow flurries drifted down on the small boy and his suitcase.
The huddled figure was already dusted with white when Mother walked across the street 10 minutes later and sat down beside him on the snowbank.“What is it，Eric？You've been so good these last few weeks，but I know something's been bothering you since we first started the crib.Can you tell me，honey？”
“Mom，”the little boy said through his tears，“you just don't understand.I got Kelly's name all four weeks！And I hate Kelly！I can't do one more nice thing for her or I'll die！I tried，Mom.I really did.I sneaked in her room every night and fixed her bed.I even laid out her crummy nightgown.I emptied her wastebasket，and I did some homework for her one night when she was going to the bathroom.Mom，I even let her use my race car one day，but she smashed it right into the wall like always！”
“I tried to be nice to her，Mom.Even when she called me a stupid dummy because the crib leg was short，I didn't hit her.And every week，when we picked new names，I thought it would be over.But tonight，when I got her name again，I knew I couldn't do one more nice thing for her，Mom.I just can't！And tomorrow's Christmas Eve.I'll spoil Christmas for everybody just when we're ready to put Baby Jesus in the crib.Don't you see why I had to leave？”
They sat together quietly for a few minutes，Mother's arm around the small boy's shoulders.Only an occasional sniffle and hiccup broke the silence on the snowbank.
Finally Mother began to speak softly，“Eric，I am so proud of you.Every good thing you did should count as double because it was especially hard for you to be nice to Kelly for so long.But you did all those nice things anyway，one straw at a time.You gave your love when it wasn't easy to give.Maybe that's what the spirit of Christmas is really all about.If it's too easy to give，maybe we're not really giving much of ourselves after all.The straws you added were probable the most important ones，and you should be proud of yourself.”
“Now，how would you like a chance to earn a few easy straws like the rest of us？I still have the name I picked tonight in my pocket，and I haven't looked at it yet.Why don't we switch，just for the last day？It will be our secret.”“That's not cheating？”“It's not cheating，”Mother smiled.Together they dried the tears，brushed off the snow and walked back to the house.
The next day the whole family was busy cooking and straightening up the house for Christmas Day，wrapping last-minute presents and trying hard not to burst with excitement.But even with all the activity and eagerness，a flurry of new straws piled up in the crib，and by nightfall it was overflowing.At different times while passing by，each member of the family，big and small，would pause and look at the wonderful pile for a moment，then smile before going on.It was almost time for the tiny crib to be used.But was it soft enough？One straw might still make a difference.
For that very reason，just before bedtime，Mother tip-toed quietly to Kelly's room to lay out the little blue nightgown and turn down the bed.But she stopped in the doorway，surprised.Someone had already been there.The nightgown was laid neatly across the bed and a small red race car rested next to it on the pillow.
The last straw was Eric's after all.
冬天的下午漫长而寒冷，每个人都只好窝在家里，麦克唐纳家的四个孩子又开始为了玩具互相争吵，嘲弄，打架了。每当这时候，妈妈就几乎要相信她的这些孩子们彼此憎恨，互相之间没有什么感情，虽然她知道这是不可能的。当然了，兄弟姐妹都难免会争吵，但是，近来，她的这帮小东西对彼此是愈发的过分了，特别是只差一岁的艾瑞克和凯莉，他们似乎决意要让对方整个冬天都不好过。
“给我，那是我的！”“才不是，胖子！我先拿到的！”
听到从客厅里传来这最新的争吵声，妈妈不禁叹了口气。还有一个月就到圣诞节了，可是麦克唐纳家却可怜地没一点圣诞的气氛。这本来应该是一个大家互相分享，彼此爱护，心里充满温暖和喜悦的时候。只有包装漂亮的礼物和树上闪耀的光彩是不足以制造出真正的圣诞气氛。但做妈妈的怎样才能让孩子们相信爱心才是为过圣诞节所做的最重要的准备呢？
妈妈只想到一个主意。多年前她的外祖母曾告诉过她一个能帮助人们理解圣诞节真正含义的老习俗。也许它能管用，值得一试。妈妈把她的四个小调皮鬼叫到一块，让他们从小到大――迈克，兰迪，凯莉，艾瑞克，依次排开坐在椅子上。
“你们几个觉得我们今年来一个新的圣诞方案怎么样？”她问，“像一个游戏，但是只有那些能保守秘密的人才能玩。你们是不是每个人都能做到呢？”“我能！”艾瑞克大叫，使劲地挥舞着两只胳膊。“我比他更能保守秘密。”凯莉叫道，跳起来也挥动着胳膊，如果这是个比赛，她一定得打败艾瑞克才行。“我能做到！”兰迪插进来喊道，虽然不太清楚到底发生什么事，但他不想被落下。“还有我，还有我，还有我。”小迈克也蹦蹦跳跳地尖声嚷着。
“好吧，游戏呢，是这样的，”妈妈解释说，“当小耶稣今年平安夜到来的时候，我们给他做一张世界上最柔软的床，给他个惊喜。我们就在家里给他建造一张小婴儿床，而且我们会往里放上稻草，使他睡起来更舒服。但是，游戏的关键是：我们往马槽里放的每一根稻草都代表我们从现在起到圣诞前为他人做的一件好事。我们做的好事越多给小耶稣的稻草也就越多。要保守秘密的是――我们不能告诉任何人我们做了什么好事，为谁做的。”
孩子们看起来迷惑不解，“小耶稣怎么知道那是给他的床呢？”凯莉问。“他会知道的，”妈妈回答，“他会根据我们付出的爱来识别，根据小床有多柔软。”“那我们给谁做好事呢？”艾瑞克问。“很简单，”妈妈又回答说，“我们互相为对方做。从现在起一直到圣诞，每个礼拜我们都把我们的名字放到这顶帽子里，包括我的和爸爸的，然后我们每个人抽一个名字，接着就在下面的一周里为这个人做好事。但是难的地方是，我们不能告诉任何人我们抽的是谁，而且我们得尽力去为这个人做好事，越多越好，不能被抓到。我们每做一件好事，就可以往小床里添一根稻草。”
“但是，如果我抽到了我不喜欢的人呢？”凯莉皱起了眉。妈妈想了一会儿说，“这样的话，也许你可以放比较大的稻草，因为对你来说为他们做好事更难一些。但是，你们想一想，大根的稻草可以更快地把小床添满。这样，圣诞前夜我们就能让小耶稣睡在他的小床上了，睡在由我们的爱做成的床垫上。我想他会很喜欢的，你们说呢？”
“现在，谁来给我们制作小床呢？”她接着问。艾瑞克年纪最大，也是孩子们中惟一被允许使用工具的，于是他主动请缨到地下室试上一把。接下来的几个小时里，巨大的响声和锯木头的嘈杂声不断地从地下室传出来，然后很长时间又悄然无声。最后艾瑞克终于爬上楼梯，胳膊里抱着那个马槽样的小床，“给你们，”他咧嘴笑着，“全世界最好的婴儿床！完全是我自己做的。”
这次大家绝无仅有地一致同意：这是世界上最好的幼儿床。一条腿儿短了一英寸，自然有些摇晃，但是它是爱心造就的――而且钉了大概百十来个钉子――肯定可以保存很长时间。
那天晚上在饭桌上，六个人的名字被分别写到纸片上，折起来放在一个旧棒球帽里，洗牌似的摇晃了半天，接着抓阄就开始了。
凯莉第一个，抓完一看马上就哈哈地笑了。兰迪第二个。爸爸瞧了瞧他手中的小纸片，捂嘴一笑。妈妈抓了一个，但是从她脸上丝毫看不出什么。下一个，小迈克把手伸到帽子里，但他还不识字，所以爸爸得在他耳朵边悄声告诉他抓的是谁。艾瑞克最后，他打开最后一个纸阄，额头蹙了一下，但是他把纸片揣进兜里，什么也没说。大家都已经摩拳擦掌了。
接下来的一周充满了惊喜。麦克唐纳家好像闯入了一群隐形的精灵，好事此起彼伏地发生。凯莉睡觉时走进自己的房间，发现她的蓝色睡衣已经整齐的叠好放在一边，床也铺好了。工作台底下的锯屑被人主动一扫而空。一天午饭后妈妈出去拿邮件的功夫，掉在厨房台子上的碎果冻也神奇的消失了。每天早晨，艾瑞克去洗手间刷牙的时候，就会有人悄悄地爬进他的房间给他收拾床被，虽然不是很美观，但叠好了。“我的鞋呢？”一天早晨爸爸问家人，似乎没人知道，但是在他出发上班前，鞋又回到了鞋柜里，擦的闪闪发光。
妈妈同样注意到了这个星期里其他的变化。孩子们戏闹、打架的次数不像往常那么多了，一场争吵会在毫无征兆的情况下戛然而止。甚至艾瑞克和凯莉的关系也似乎融洽起来。事实上，所有孩子脸上都带着神秘的微笑，还不时的咯咯作笑。
到周日，每个人都迫不及待地等待抽取新的名字，这次抓阄的过程有了更多的欢笑。除了艾瑞克，像上次一样，他打开他的纸片，看了一眼，然后塞进兜里一言不发。妈妈注意到他的神情，但没说什么。
第二个星期带来了更多的惊喜。垃圾没等谁说就被倒了出去，甚至有天晚上凯莉的作业敞在桌上的时候，有人帮她作出了两道数学难题。随着神秘的精灵们不断进行着他们的活动，小床里的稻草也堆的越来越高，麦克唐纳家总算有了圣诞节的气息。只有艾瑞克在第三次抓阄后，变得异常地安静。
最后一次抓阄是在圣诞前夕的头一天晚上。大家围桌而坐，等着最后一次把名字搁进帽子里，妈妈发言说，“你们做得都很好，我们的小床里一定有相当多的稻草了――可能有一千根也说不定呢。你们应该为你们自己弄出来的小床感到高兴，但是记住，还有一整天的时间，明晚之前，我们都还有时间能把床变得再软一些。加油。”
帽子最后一次在桌子上传递着。小迈克拿出一个名字，爸爸像前三次一样悄悄在他耳边说出是谁。兰迪手伸在桌下，小心翼翼地打开她的纸片，瞄了一眼，微笑着耸耸肩。凯莉伸手到帽子里，看到她抽的是谁后禁不住笑出了声。爸爸和妈妈也抓了他们各自的那个，然后把剩有最后一个名字的帽子交给艾瑞克。但是，当艾瑞克打开那个小纸条，看到了名字，他的脸痛苦的扭缩在了一起，突然一副看起来要哭的样子。他一言不发，起身跑了出去。
每个人都条件反射似的从桌旁跳起身来，但是妈妈制止了他们，“别，呆在这儿，让我先单独跟他谈谈。”她刚上到二楼，就听见艾瑞克的门砰地踹开的声音。他正一手套上外衣，一手拖出一个小行李箱。“我得走，”他声音没有颤抖，脸上却流着泪水，“如果我不走，我会把每个人的圣诞节都毁了！”“为什么？你要去哪儿？”妈妈问他。“我可以在我的雪堡垒里睡几天，圣诞一过我就回来，我保证。”
妈妈说会冻僵，下雪，没戴手套，没穿靴子之类的话，但是，站在她身后的爸爸把手放在她胳膊上，摇了摇头，“让他自己呆一会，然后你再跟他谈。”大门关上了，他们一起透过窗户注视着那个小小的身影，悲伤地耷拉着肩，光着脑袋，一脚深一脚浅地穿过街道，坐在靠近角落里的路边雪堤上。天色已很黑，越来越冷，稀稀落落的雪花飘落到小男孩和他的箱子上。
当妈妈十分钟后穿过街道坐到他身旁的时候，他蜷缩的小身体上已经落了一层雪花。“艾瑞克，怎么回事？你过去几周一直都表现得很好，但是我知道从一开始你就有点不对劲，亲爱的，能告诉我吗？”
“妈妈，”小男孩用泪水涟涟的眼睛看着她，“你根本就不明白。我四周拿到的全部都是凯莉的名字！我讨厌凯莉！我再也不能给她做哪怕是一件好事了，不然我会死！我努力过了，妈妈，我真的努力过了。我每天晚上都偷偷溜进她的房间，给她铺床，我甚至还把她那肥大的睡衣给她摆好。我清理她的垃圾桶。晚上她去洗澡的时候，我还帮她做作业。妈妈，有一天我甚至让她玩我的赛车，可她还是像平时一样让我的赛车撞到墙上！”
“我想对她好来着，妈妈。因为小床的腿短了一点，她叫我笨蛋，我都没有打她。每次我们抓阄的时候，我就想这一切总归会结束的，但是，今天晚上，我又抓到她的名字的时候，我知道我不可能再为她做好事了。妈妈，我根本办不到！明天就是圣诞前夕了，就在大家准备把小耶稣放到小床上的时候，我会把每个人的圣诞都毁掉。这下你还不明白我为什么要走吗？”
妈妈用胳膊搂住小男孩的肩膀，他们一起静静地坐了几分钟，只有偶尔的抽泣和打嗝声打破雪堤上的沉默。
最终妈妈温柔地开口了，“艾瑞克，我真为你骄傲。你做的每一件好事都应该算作双份，因为这几周来你一直对凯莉好，真是难为你，不管怎样，你还是为她做了那么多，为我们大家增添了不少稻草。虽然很难，你还是拿出了你的爱心，也许这才是圣诞节的真正含义。如果太容易，也许我们就没有真正的付出什么。你添进去的稻草很可能是最重要的稻草，你应该为你自己感到骄傲。”
“现在，你想和我们其他人一样轻松地添上几根稻草吗？我兜里还有今晚抽到的名字，没有看，为什么我们不调换一下呢？就这最后一天，这是我们之间的秘密。”“这不算作弊吗？”“不算。”妈妈笑了。他们一起把眼泪擦干，拍掉身上的雪，回到家里。
第二天，全家人都忙着准备食物，打扫房间，急忙地把礼物包装得漂漂亮亮，一面还得压抑住内心的兴奋和激动。但是，就算是在这些繁忙的工作中，小床上又新添了一小撮稻草，到傍晚的时候，稻草已经满的冒出来了。家里的每个成员，不管长幼，经过小床时，都会停顿一下看着那堆奇妙的稻草，幸福的微笑。小床马上就制造完毕，可以投入使用了，但是，它足够柔软了吗？也许再加一根稻草，情况就会不同。
为这个原因，睡觉前，妈妈蹑手蹑脚地准备到凯莉的房间去，为她拿出她的蓝睡衣，给她铺床。但是，她来到门口时，惊的呆住了。已经有人来过，睡衣已然整齐地摆好在床上，一辆红色的玩具小赛车放在枕头边。
最后一根稻草终究还是艾瑞克的。
译者感言
俗话说，爱之深，恨之切。爱恨往往交织在一起，恨是由爱引起的，或直接，或间接。我们不能没有爱，所以恨也不会自动消失。可是恨会噬咬人心，注入苦涩，绵绵不绝的恨只会降低人享受生活的能力。有句歌词写得好，“你会感受爱，感受恨，感受原谅，生命总不会只充满悲伤。”心中感受到宽容和原谅就犹如拨开云雾看见太阳。诚然，这并不是件容易的事，这种治愈的过程好比剥洋葱。剥掉一层里面又会现出新的一层，而外面的一层通常要比里面的一层粗糙，滋味也更呛辣，你会难受、掉眼泪，但是等剥到内部的时候，你会尝到丝丝甜甜的味道，这时候你就可以用它做菜或者下饭，享受一顿美食了。所以，不要去拒绝，我们每个人都具有宽容和原谅的能力，它原本就是与生俱来的，和爱一样，是生命，是大自然赋予我们的珍宝。天空是宽容的，她包容了雷电风暴的肆虐，才浩瀚无垠；大地是宽容的，她包容了万物的汲取，才繁茂兴荣；大海是宽容的，她包容了滚滚的惊涛骇浪，才深邃广阔；生命是宽容的，心灵就是世间最博大的容器。
