橘色奇跡

Don't be trapped by dogma， which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important，

have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

—Steve Jobs

Mr. Plumbean lived on a street where all the houses were the same. He liked it that way. So did everybody else on Mr. Plumbean's street. \"This is a neat street，\" they would say. Then one day ...

A seagull flew over Mr. Plumbean's house. He was carrying a can of bright orange paint. (No one knows why.) And he dropped the can (no one knows why) right over Mr. Plumbean's house. It made a big orange splot on Mr. Plumbean's house.

\"Ooooh! Too bad!\" everybody said. \"Mr. Plumbean will have to paint his house again.\"

\"I suppose I will，\" said Mr. Plumbean. But he didn't paint his house right away. He looked at the big orange splot for a long time; then he went about his business.

The neighbors got tired of seeing that big orange splot. Someone said， \"Mr. Plumbean， we wish you'd get around to2) painting your house.\"

\"OK，\" said Mr. Plumbean. He got some blue paint and some white paint， and that night he got busy. He painted at night because it was cooler.

When the paint was gone， the roof was blue. The walls were white. And the big orange splot was still there. Then he got some more paint. He got red paint， yellow paint， green paint， and purple paint.

In the morning the other people on the street came out of their houses. Their houses were all the same. But Mr. Plumbean's house was like a rainbow. It was like a jungle3). It was like an explosion. There was the big orange splot. And there were little orange splots. There were stripes. There were pictures of elephants and lions and pretty girls and steam-shovels4).

The people said， \"Plumbean has popped his cork5)， flipped his wig6)， blown his stack7)， and dropped his stopper8).\" They went away muttering9).

That day Mr. Plumbean bought carpenter's10) tools. That night he built a tower on top of his roof， and he painted a clock on the tower.

The next day the people said， \"Plumbean has gushed his mush11)， lost his marbles， and slipped his hawser12).\" They decided they would pretend not to notice.

That very night Mr. Plumbean got a truck full of green things. He planted palm13) trees， baobabs14)， thorn bushes， onions， and frangipani15). In the morning he bought a hammock16) and an alligator17).

When the other people came out of their houses， they saw Mr. Plumbean swinging in a hammock between two palm trees. They saw an alligator lying in the grass. Mr. Plumbean was drinking lemonade.

\"Plumbean has gone too far!\" \"This used to be a neat street!\" \"Plumbean， what have you done to your house?\" the people shouted.

\"My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams，\" Mr. Plumbean said.

The people went away. They asked the man who lived next door to Mr. Plumbean to go and have a talk with him. \"Tell him that we all liked it here before he changed his house. Tell him that his house has to be the same as ours so we can have a neat street.\"

The man went to see Mr. Plumbean that evening. They sat under the palm trees drinking lemonade and talking all night long.

Early the next morning the man went out to get lumber18) and rope and nails and paint. When the people came out of their houses they saw a red and yellow ship next door to the house of Mr. Plumbean.

\"What have you done to your house?\" they shouted at the man.

\"My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams，\" said the man， who had always loved ships.

\"He's just like Plumbean!\" the people said. \"He's got bees in his bonnet19)， bats in his belfry20)， and knots in his noodle!\"

Then， one by one， they went to see Mr. Plumbean， late at night. They would sit under the palm trees and drink lemonade and talk about their dreams—and whenever anybody visited Mr. Plumbean's house， the very next day that person would set about changing his own house to fit his dreams.

Whenever a stranger came to the street of Mr. Plumbean and his neighbors， the stranger would say， \"This is not a neat street.\"

Then all the people would say， \"Our street is us and we are it. Our street is where we like to be and it looks like all our dreams.\"

梅豆先生住的那條街上的所有房子都一模一樣。他喜歡這個樣子，住在這條街上的其他人也一樣。“這是一條整潔的街道。”他們會說。然后，有一天……

一只海鷗從梅豆先生的房子上空飛過，嘴里還叼著一桶亮橘色的油漆。(沒人知道為什么。)它飛到梅豆先生家正上方時，將油漆桶丟了下去(沒人知道為什么)，在梅豆先生的房子上留下了一個大大的橘色斑點。

“噢！太糟糕了！”每個人都說，“梅豆先生這下得重新粉刷房子了。”

“我想是的。”梅豆先生說。但是他并沒有馬上粉刷他的房子。他對著那個大大的橘色斑點端詳了很久，然后就去干他自己的事情了。

鄰居們看著那個橘色的大斑點，覺得很煩。有人說：“梅豆先生，我們希望你能抽點時間把你的房子重新粉刷一下。”

“好的。”梅豆先生說。他找來一些藍色和白色的油漆。當天晚上他就忙碌起來，粉刷房子，因為晚上更涼快些。

當油漆用完了的時候，屋頂變成了藍色，墻壁變成了白色，而那個橘色的大斑點還在那里。然后他又找來更多的油漆，紅色的、黃色的、綠色的和紫色的都有。

第二天早上，住在街上的其他人走出家門。他們的房子都一模一樣，但梅豆先生的房子看上去卻像一條彩虹，像一片叢林，像經歷了一次大爆炸。那個大大的橘色斑點還在，還有一些小的橘色斑點以及許多條紋。另外還有各種圖案，有大象、獅子、漂亮的小姑娘，還有蒸汽挖土機。

人們說：“梅豆是火冒三丈、暴跳如雷、氣急敗壞、怒不可遏了！”他們嘀嘀咕咕地走開了。

那天，梅豆先生買來了做木匠活用的工具。那天晚上，他在屋頂上建起了一座塔，還在塔上畫了一面時鐘。

第二天，人們說：“梅豆是失去理智、腦子進水、神經錯亂了。”他們決定裝作視而不見。

就在那天晚上，梅豆先生又弄來了滿滿一卡車的綠植。他種上了棕櫚樹、猴面包樹、荊棘叢、洋蔥和雞蛋花。第二天一早，他還買來了一張吊床和一只短吻鱷。

當其他人走出家門時，他們看見梅豆先生正躺在兩棵棕櫚樹之間的吊床里晃來晃去。他們還看見一只短吻鱷正趴在草地上，而梅豆先生則在喝檸檬汁。

“梅豆太過分了！”“這條街道原本是那么整潔來著！”“梅豆，你對你的房子做了什么啊？”人們嚷嚷道。

“我的房子就是我，我就是我的房子。我喜歡待在我的房子里，我的房子能展現我所有的夢想。”梅豆先生說。

人們走開了。他們讓住在梅豆先生家隔壁的那個男人去和梅豆先生談一談。“跟他說說，我們都喜歡這條街原來的樣子。告訴他，他的房子必須和我們的房子保持一致，這樣我們的街道才是整潔的。”

當天晚上，那個男人去見了梅豆先生。他們坐在棕櫚樹下，喝著檸檬汁，聊了一整夜。

第二天一早，那個男人出去買來了木料、繩子、釘子和油漆。當人們走出家門時，他們看見梅豆先生家的隔壁出現了一艘漆著紅色和黃色的船。

“你對你的房子做了些什么啊？”他們朝那個男人喊道。

“我的房子就是我，我就是我的房子。我喜歡待在我的房子里，我的房子能展現我所有的夢想。”那個男人說。他一直都很喜歡船。

“他就像梅豆一樣！”人們說，“他簡直是神志不清、異想天開、大腦短路了！”

在那之后，人們在深夜一個接一個去見梅豆先生。他們會坐在棕櫚樹下，喝著檸檬汁談論他們的夢想——無論誰在什么時候拜訪過梅豆先生，他都會在拜訪后的第二天開始改造自己的房子，把它改造成自己夢想中的樣子。

每當有陌生人來到梅豆先生和他的鄰居們所住的街道，他總是會說：“這條街道太不整潔了。”

然后所有的人就會回答：“我們的街道就是我們，我們就是這條街道。我們喜歡住在這條街上，這條街能展現我們所有的夢想。”

1.Daniel Pinkwater: 丹尼·平克華特(1941～)，猶太裔美國作家及插畫家，《橘色奇跡》是他最受歡迎的作品之一。

2.get around to: 抽出時間(做)

3.jungle [?d???ɡl] n. 叢林地帶

4.steam-shovel [?sti?m???vl] n. 汽鏟；(汽動)挖掘機

5.pop one's cork: 發脾氣，勃然大怒。“flip one's wig”“blow one's stack”和“drop one's stopper”與其語意相同。

6.wig [w?ɡ] n. 假發

7.stack [st?k] n. 整齊的一疊(或一堆)

8.stopper [?st?p?(r)] n. (瓶等的)塞子，栓

9.mutter [?m?t?(r)] vi. 低語；咕噥(某事)

10.carpenter [?kɑ?p?nt?(r)] n. 木匠

11.gush one's mush: 失去理智。“lose one's marbles”和“slip one's hawser”與其語意相同。

12.hawser [?h??z?(r)] n. (船)纜索，大索

13.palm [pɑ?m] n. 棕櫚樹

14.baobab [?be???b?b] n. 猴面包樹

15.frangipani [?fr?nd?i?p?ni] n. 雞蛋花屬植物，雞蛋花

16.hammock [?h?m?k] n. 吊床

17.alligator [??l?ɡe?t?(r)] n. 短吻鱷

18.lumber [?l?mb?(r)] n. (建筑或木工用的)木材，木料

19.a bee in one's bonnet: 有點兒神經不正常。“a bat in one's belfry”和“a knot in one's noodle”與其語意相同。

20.belfry [?belfri] n. <俚>頭，腦袋