美麗在我心

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world： fighting， eating garbage， and， shall we say， love.

The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with， he had only one eye and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side， his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time， and had healed at an unnatural angle， making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail has long age been lost， leaving only the smallest stub， which he would constantly jerk and twitch.

Ugly would have been a dark grey tabby， striped-type， except for the sores covering his head， neck， even his shoulders with thick， yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. “That’s one UGLY cat??！”

All the children were warned not to touch him， the adults threw rocks at him， hosed him down， squirted him when he tried to come in their home or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him， he would stand there， getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him， he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children， he would come running， meowing frantically and bump his head against their hand begging for their love. If you ever picked him， up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt， earring whatever he could find.

One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor’s huskies. They did not respond kindly， and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his scream and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying， it was apparent Ugly’s sad life was almost at an end.

Ugly lay in a wet circle， his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape， a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home， I could hear him wheezing and gasping， and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly， I thought.

Then I felt a familiar tugging， sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly， in so much pain， suffering and obviously dying， was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me， and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head， then he turned his one golden eye towards me， and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain， that ugly battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection， perhaps some compassion.

At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful， loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me， or even try to get away from me， or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.

Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside， but I sat and held him for a long time afterward thinking about how one scarred， deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit， to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand book lecture or talk show specials ever could， and for that I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside， but I was scarred on the inside， and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.

Many people want to be richer， more successful， well liked， beautiful， but for me， I will always try to be Ugly.

我住的公寓大樓里的每個(gè)人都認(rèn)得這只丑八怪。丑八怪曾是小區(qū)里的流浪貓。在這個(gè)世界上他只喜歡做三件事：戰(zhàn)斗、吃垃圾，還有，應(yīng)該說是愛吧。

生命中的這三件事再加上流浪的生活造就了這只丑八怪：他只有一只眼睛，另一邊則成了一個(gè)大窟窿。同一側(cè)的耳朵也沒有了，他的一只左腳看起來也受過傷，痊愈后的樣子變成了個(gè)極不自然的斜角，使他看起來總像是在不停地轉(zhuǎn)彎。他的尾巴大部分也都不見了，只剩下一個(gè)短小的咎，卻像是始終在不停地?fù)u呀，搖呀。

丑八怪應(yīng)該屬于一條深灰色的虎斑貓，條紋的那種，當(dāng)然除了他頭上、脖子上和肩膀上那些帶著厚厚的黃色痂子的瘡口。每次有人看到丑八怪都會(huì)只有一個(gè)反應(yīng)：“真是只難看的丑八怪”。

所有的孩子們都被告知不能觸摸他：大人們用石子丟他，用水管澆他；當(dāng)他進(jìn)屋的時(shí)候用水槍射他，當(dāng)他不肯離去的時(shí)候用門擠他的爪子?？沙蟀斯种挥幸粋€(gè)反應(yīng)：如果你用水管澆他，他只會(huì)站在那兒被淋得通透，直到你放棄到停止；如果你朝他丟東西，他則把瘦長的身體蜷縮在腳上，連帶其早已寬恕之心。

每次他看到孩子都會(huì)跑過去“喵！喵！……”，瘋狂地喊叫，并用他的他在孩子們的手上使勁兒蹭，祈求他們的憐愛。倘若你把他抱起來，他馬上就會(huì)開始吸吮你的襯衫、耳環(huán)……一切他能找到的東西。

一天丑八怪將愛分享給了鄰居家的哈士奇?zhèn)?，可?duì)方卻并沒有報(bào)以慈悲，小丑被撕咬得很嚴(yán)重。