永遠(yuǎn)的勝利

The morning sun sat low on the horizon， reflecting from the windows of our big yellow school bus as it bounced along the blacktop of the two—lane prairie highway. My eight—year—old sister， Ruthie， and I were on board， traveling with the rest of Ruthie’s public school track team， bound for the county meet fifty miles away.

The meet was a first for her. She craned her neck at every passing landmark， chattered like a chip—munk， and wriggled in her seat in anticipation of the day’s events. She was thrilled not only because she had qualified for her first big track meet， but also because she expected to see some of the out—of—town friends she had made at Brownie camp the summer before. By the time we arrived at the athletic field， the sun had risen higher in the clear Alberta sky and the early summer heat was beginning to build over the track. I set up a private cheering section in the shade of the bleachers， and Ruthie went off exploring. Sure enough， she met some of her Brownie buddies， including her special friend， Susan. Their friendship was special because Susan had helped Ruthie to conquer her fear of water and learn to swim the previous summer， while others had taunted and teased. Ruthie had never forgotten Susan’s kindness.

The girls spent time catching up on the year’s news， and when the talk turned to the present， Ruthie discovered that she and Susan would be participating in the same event： the 400—meter run， once around the big high school track. It was a tough test for novice runners， but Ruthie knew she could do it， and knowing her friend would be running with her made her feel even better.

Before the race started， I tightened the laces on her running shoes and hugged her for luck， and she hurried over to the start to join the other runners， including Susan.

At the starting line， she and Susan stood side by side， one in red shorts， the other in blue， their legs flexing nervously as they listened carefully to the instructions. Taking their marks， the two friends rose in tandem to the set position and froze like statues until the sharp crack of the starter’s gun set them free. The pack broke together， cinders flying， as the inexperienced runners sprinted toward the first turn， jockeying for position， each fighting for the lead. I knew they couldn’t maintain that furious pace for long， and sure enough， as they came out of the turn， the group slowed and two figures， one in red shorts， the other in blue， began to pull away. Running stride for stride， they pushed each other down the backstretch and left the others well behind.

Locked in their own private battle， with arms and legs driving like pistons， Ruthie and Susan powered into the far turn， still neck and neck. Blue shorts on the inside， red on the outside， the duel continued at a cruel pace. Something had to give. And it did.

Susan reached the limit of her endurance. Her stride grew choppy， she began to falter， and Ruthie started to move ahead. My heart leaped with hope as Ruthie swept out of the final corner， five meters in front， running free and easy. Susan trailed， running doggedly now， fighting exhaustion， trying to stay in the race.

The cheering crowd came to its feet， yelling encouragement， and Ruthie’s lead widened to ten and then to twenty meters. As she neared the finish， the hint of a smile appeared on Ruthie’s determined face， and she glanced over her shoulder to place her opponents. Suddenly， she broke stride. Her pace slowed and then， unbelievably， she stopped， just short of the beckoning chalk line.

Ruthie stood there， looking back up the track， bent slightly at the waist， panting with exertion. The triumphant look on her face had faded， replaced with one of concern. Susan was crying. Still running， now with her right hand clutching a stitch in her side and tears of pain streaking her face， she struggled to finish.

The crowd of onlookers began to call to Ruthie， urging her to run， and her coach started yelling at her， demanding she cross the line. But Ruthie stood fast. She waited for her friend， and then， with arms around each other’s shoulders， they jogged the last few strides and broke the tape together.

The officials were in a dither. Protests were lodged， and meetings were held. Ultimately， both girls were disqualified for interference， and the ribbons went to others. Ruthie’s coach chided her， and her simple act of kindness and friendship was held up to ridicule. I hugged Ruthie my hardest ever that day， and warned away the others with the anger in my eyes. You see， the adults just didn’t understand. But Susan did， and I did. And when I told my parents， they did， too. Because we knew Ruthie， and we knew that in life’s long run， Ruthie was and would always be a winner！

早晨的太陽(yáng)低低地掛在地平線上，我們黃色的大校巴在大草原高速公路的柏油雙行道上顛簸而行，車窗閃爍著晨光。我和八歲的妹妹魯思坐在車上，與她所在公立學(xué)校田徑隊(duì)的其他選手一起，前往參加50英里外的縣運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)。

這是她第一次參加運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)。每路過(guò)一處路標(biāo)，她都會(huì)伸長(zhǎng)脖子張望，然后像個(gè)小老鼠般吱吱地講個(gè)不停，身子在座位上扭來(lái)扭去，憧憬著當(dāng)天的比賽。她如此興奮不僅是因?yàn)樗匈Y格參加平生第一次大型的運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)，而且她還希望見(jiàn)到前一年夏天她在女童子軍營(yíng)認(rèn)識(shí)的幾個(gè)城外的朋友。當(dāng)我們來(lái)到運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)的時(shí)候，太陽(yáng)在阿爾伯特省的晴空上爬得更高了，初夏的熱浪開(kāi)始席卷整個(gè)跑道。我在露天看臺(tái)的遮蔭處設(shè)了一個(gè)私人加油點(diǎn)。而魯思則跑去四處找人。當(dāng)然了，她見(jiàn)到了她的一些女童子軍朋友們，包括一個(gè)特別的朋友，蘇珊。她們的關(guān)系特別好，因?yàn)榍耙荒晗奶焯K珊幫助魯思克服了對(duì)水的恐懼，并且教會(huì)了她游泳，而其他人則只會(huì)嘲笑和戲弄她。魯思一直都記得蘇珊對(duì)她的好。

女孩子們談?wù)摿诉@一年來(lái)發(fā)生的事情，接著話題轉(zhuǎn)到了現(xiàn)在。魯思發(fā)現(xiàn)她和蘇珊將會(huì)一起參加400米這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，一起繞著這個(gè)中學(xué)的大跑道比賽。這對(duì)于跑步的初學(xué)者來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)嚴(yán)峻的考驗(yàn)，但是魯思知道她可以做到，而且得知她的朋友會(huì)和她一起跑，這讓她感覺(jué)更好。

比賽開(kāi)始前，我?guī)退壘o了跑鞋上的鞋帶，擁抱了她，并祝她好運(yùn)。隨后她就趕忙跑去起跑線那里和其他的選手會(huì)合，包括蘇珊。

在起跑線那里，她和蘇珊并肩而立，一個(gè)穿著紅短褲，一個(gè)穿著藍(lán)短褲。她們一邊興奮地活動(dòng)著雙腿，一邊認(rèn)真地聽(tīng)指令。她們各就各位，這兩個(gè)朋友一前一后地直起上身，擺出起跑姿勢(shì)，一動(dòng)不動(dòng)，像尊雕像，直到發(fā)令員刺耳的槍聲一響，一群人一起起跑了，跑道上塵土飛揚(yáng)，這些沒(méi)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的賽跑選手朝著第一個(gè)彎狂奔，大家都在搶占有利位置和領(lǐng)先位置。我知道他們以那樣快的速度跑，是不能堅(jiān)持很久的。果然，在跑出第一個(gè)彎的時(shí)候，整隊(duì)人的速度都慢了下來(lái)，而此時(shí)卻有兩個(gè)人脫穎而出，一個(gè)穿著紅短褲，另一個(gè)穿著藍(lán)短褲。她們?cè)诜墙K點(diǎn)直道上你追我趕，速度不相上下，把其他選手遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)丟在了后面。

這變成她們兩人之間的一場(chǎng)較量了，她們的手腳像活塞一樣不停擺動(dòng)，很快就到了遠(yuǎn)處的轉(zhuǎn)彎，兩人還是齊頭并進(jìn)。藍(lán)短褲在內(nèi)線，紅短褲在外線，比賽以殘酷的節(jié)奏繼續(xù)進(jìn)行著。有些事情總會(huì)發(fā)生，而事實(shí)的確如此。

蘇珊到達(dá)了耐力的極限。她的步伐變得凌亂，開(kāi)始跑得搖搖晃晃了，魯思開(kāi)始領(lǐng)先了。當(dāng)魯思輕松地跑出最后一個(gè)彎道，超過(guò)蘇珊五米時(shí)，我心里開(kāi)始充滿希望。而蘇珊落后了，跑得筋疲力盡，但還在堅(jiān)持，努力繼續(xù)比賽。

加油的人群都站了起來(lái)，大聲叫喊著加油。魯思的領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢(shì)擴(kuò)大到了十米，然后是二十米。當(dāng)她接近終點(diǎn)的時(shí)候，她堅(jiān)定的臉上出現(xiàn)了一絲笑意。她扭轉(zhuǎn)頭去看她的對(duì)手在哪里。突然她打亂了步伐，速度也慢了下來(lái)，接著，她在就要到達(dá)終點(diǎn)的地方令人難以置信地停了下來(lái)。

魯思站在那里，看著身后的跑道，微微彎著腰，累得氣喘吁吁。她臉上勝利的表情消退了，取而代之的是一副關(guān)心的神情。蘇珊在哭，她的右手按住肋部還在繼續(xù)地跑，臉上流淌著痛苦的眼淚。她在努力跑完比賽。

旁觀的人群開(kāi)始對(duì)著魯思大叫，催促她繼續(xù)跑，她的教練也對(duì)著她大聲吼，要求她沖過(guò)終點(diǎn)線。但魯思一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。她在等她的朋友。然后，她們的手臂互相搭著對(duì)方的肩膀，慢慢跑完了最后的幾步，一起沖過(guò)了終點(diǎn)線。

裁判員們躊躇了，有人提出抗議，他們召開(kāi)了會(huì)議。最后，兩個(gè)女孩因?yàn)榉敢?guī)都沒(méi)能得獎(jiǎng)。勛章帶給了別人。魯思的教練批評(píng)了她，而她表達(dá)善意和友情的單純行為被當(dāng)成是荒謬的舉動(dòng)。那天，我從未有過(guò)地緊緊擁抱了魯思，用憤怒的目光警告別人走開(kāi)。即使那些大人們不明白，但是蘇珊明白，我也明白。并且當(dāng)我告訴爸爸媽媽時(shí)，他們也明白。因?yàn)槲覀兞私怍斔迹覀冎溃谌松拈L(zhǎng)跑中，魯思是個(gè)勝者，而且永遠(yuǎn)都是。