真正的寶藏

對奶奶來說，真正的寶藏不是閃閃發光的金銀珠寶，而是珍藏在箱底那或快樂或甜蜜的回憶，是心里無法割舍的懷念與牽絆。

When Grandma moved in with us， she brought a big trunk1). I helped Dad put it at the end of Grandma's bed. It was heavy and looked like a treasure chest.

That first day， Grandma sat by the window and stared out. I don't know why. All she could see was the Johnsons' house next door.

The second day， I stood in her doorway until she looked at me. She asked me to come in.

\"Are you sure?\" I asked. \"Mom said not to bother you.\"

\"Oh， Aaron， that's silly. Come in here.\"

So I went in and straddled2) the trunk like I was riding a horse.

\"That's what I used to do when I was little!\" She laughed and shook her head. \"It's the funniest thing to see you sitting on it that way.\"

I was glad Grandma was laughing.

\"I thought this trunk might be a treasure chest，\" I told her.

\"Full of rubies3) and gold!\"

\"Yeah， real treasure.\"

\"You want to see what's inside?\" she asked.

I hopped off4)， and she pulled her chair over to open the trunk. The oldest smells in the world floated out. Not bad， but not like everyday smells.

\"See this letter? Your grandfather wrote this to me.\"

The paper was thin and kind of yellow. The writing was like the spidery veins on Grandma's hand.

\"Is it a love letter?\" I asked. It looked like it might be mushy5).

\"It sure is，\" she said.

Next， Grandma took out a little blue cup with a broken handle. \"I once caught my brother using this teacup to dig fishing worms，\" she said， grinning. \"I pounced on him like a wildcat!\"

I tried to picture Grandma pouncing， but I couldn't see it.

Next， Grandma took out something wrapped in yellow cloth. It was a trophy of a girl riding a horse.

\"You won that， Grandma?\"

\"Sure did. I won it riding Queen when I was 16 years old!\"

Then she started putting things away. Her smile faded.

\"You don't like it here， do you?\" I blurted6).

She rubbed her hands together and didn't say anything right away. \"I don't dislike it，\" she said finally. \"I guess I miss my window at home. I could picture every horse I'd ever owned—even Queen! I would see them out there running across that green field—their tails flying behind them like flags.\"

I looked out Grandma's window at the Johnsons' brick wall.

I went to my room and took out my art box. I used half a crayon7) to make the fields green. Then I drew horses.

When Grandma was in the kitchen the next morning， I taped the picture to her window.

Some of the horses were eating grass. And some were running with their tails flying out behind them. Running fast， just like Queen.

奶奶搬來和我們一起住的時候，帶過來一個大箱子，我幫爸爸把它放到了奶奶的床尾。箱子很重，看起來像個藏寶箱。

奶奶搬來的第一天，坐在窗邊，凝視著窗外。我不知道奶奶為什么這樣做，因為她透過窗戶只能看到隔壁約翰遜一家的房子。

第二天，我一直站在奶奶房間的門口，直到她看見了我，叫我進去。

“您確定讓我進去嗎？”我問，“媽媽說不要來打擾您。”

“噢，艾倫，怎么會呢？進來吧。”

于是我走了進去，叉開腿坐在箱子上，就像在騎馬一樣。

“我小時候也像你這么坐！”她一邊笑一邊搖頭。“看你也像那樣坐在上面，真是太好玩了。”

看到奶奶笑了，我很高興。

“我之前覺得這箱子可能是個藏寶箱。”我告訴她。

“里面裝滿了紅寶石和黃金！”

“嗯，放著真正的寶藏。”

“你想看看里面是什么嗎？”奶奶問。

我走到一邊，奶奶把椅子拉過來，打開了箱子。世界上最陳舊的氣味從箱子里面飄了出來，雖然并不難聞，但卻和平常的氣味不太一樣。

“看到這封信了嗎？是你爺爺寫給我的。”

信紙很薄，有些泛黃，上面的字就像奶奶手上蛛網似的血管一樣。

“這是一封情書嗎？”我問。看上去這封信可能有些感傷。

“當然是。”她回答道。

接著，奶奶拿出了一個藍色的小杯子，杯把是壞的。“有一次，我撞見弟弟在用這只茶杯舀魚餌，”她咧嘴笑著說，“我就像野貓一樣猛地撲到了他身上。”

我試著勾勒奶奶猛撲的樣子，卻想象不出來。

接著，奶奶又拿出一個用黃布包起來的東西，那是一個女孩騎馬樣子的獎杯。

“這是您贏得的嗎，奶奶？”

“當然。那是我16歲騎‘女王’的時候得的！”

然后她把這些東西收了起來，臉上的笑容不見了。

“您不喜歡這里，是嗎？”我脫口而出。

她摩挲著雙手，并沒有立刻回答我。“我不是不喜歡這里，”她終于說道，“我想我可能是想念老家的窗戶了。我可以想象出我養過的每匹馬的樣子，甚至是‘女王’！我總會看見它們在窗外那片綠色的原野上馳騁，尾巴像旗幟一樣在身后甩著。”

我看了看奶奶窗外對著的約翰遜家的磚墻。

我回到自己的房間，拿出了畫畫用的盒子。我用去半只彩色蠟筆畫出了綠色的原野，接著我又畫上了幾匹馬。

第二天早上，趁奶奶在廚房里的時候，我把這幅畫貼在了奶奶房間的窗戶上。

有幾匹馬正在吃草，還有幾匹正在奔跑，馬尾巴在身后揚起。它們跑得飛快，就像“女王”那樣。

1.trunk [tr#652;#331;k] n. (大)旅行箱，(大)衣箱

2.straddle [#712;straelig;dl] vt. 騎，跨

3.ruby [#712;ru#720;bi] n. 紅寶石

4.hop off: <口> 走開

5.mushy [#712;m#652;#643;i] adj. <口> 多愁善感的，感傷多情的

6.blurt [bl#604;#720;t] vt. 脫口說出，沖口說出

7.crayon [#712;kre#618;#601;n] n. 顏色粉筆(或炭筆、蠟筆)