It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. If we didn't see some rain soon, we would lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have ever seen in my life.
　　I was making lunch for the family when I saw my 6-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He wasn't walking with his usual carefree1) air2). He was obviously walking with great effort, trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again toward the house. I went back to make sandwiches, thinking that whatever he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that unusual way toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour. Finally I couldn't take it any longer. I crept3) out of the house and followed him.
　　He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked, being very careful not to spill the water he carried. I sneaked4) close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He might have a much higher purpose, I thought. As I came closer, I saw the most amazing sight. Several large deer stood in front of him. Billy walked right up to them, at the sight of which I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck5) was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him nor even move as Billy knelt down. And then I saw a tiny baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from thirst and heat, lift its head with great effort to lap up6) the water in my boy's hands.
　　When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house. I followed him back to a spigot7). Billy opened it and a small trickle8) began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip slowly fill up his "cup".
　　And now I knew what's going on. The week before, he had made the same trouble with our horses, which caused him a lecture from his father about the importance of not wasting water. That should be the reason he didn't ask me for help. It took almost 20 minutes for the drops to fill his hands. When he stood up and turned back, I was there in front of him. His eyes were filled with tears. "I'm not wasting," was all he said. This time, I joined him, with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him tend to9) the baby deer alone for it was his job while I just stood on the edge of the woods watching. As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops...and more drops...and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence10). I can't argue with that, nor will I. All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm, just like the actions of one little boy saved another.
　　那是旱季最熱的一天。我們將近一個(gè)月未見(jiàn)滴雨。莊稼眼看就要旱死了。奶牛也擠不出奶。小溪小河早都干得底朝天。要是短時(shí)間內(nèi)不下雨,我們就會(huì)失去一切。但正是在這樣的一天,我上了一堂關(guān)于分享的課,目睹了一生中惟一的奇跡。
　　我正在給家人做午飯,無(wú)意中看到6歲的兒子比利正朝著樹林走去。我只能看見(jiàn)他的背影。他走路不像往日那樣輕快。很顯然,他走得很吃力,盡可能保持平穩(wěn)。他消失在樹林里,但幾分鐘后,就又出現(xiàn)了,朝著房子跑來(lái)。我接著做三明治,心想不管他在干什么,反正都干完了?？墒沁^(guò)了片刻,他又用那種不同于往常的姿態(tài)朝樹林走去。這項(xiàng)活動(dòng)持續(xù)了一個(gè)小時(shí)。最后我忍不住好奇,就悄悄走出屋子,跟著他。
　　他小心翼翼地走著,雙手在身前窩成了杯狀,盡量不把手里捧的水灑出去。我偷偷地跟著他進(jìn)了樹林。樹枝和荊棘拍打在他的小臉上,但是他并不設(shè)法避開。我想他可能有個(gè)更重要的目的。待我走近一看,我看到了最令人驚訝的一幕。幾只碩大的鹿站在比利的面前。他徑直朝它們走了過(guò)去,看到這一幕,我?guī)缀跫饨凶屗唛_。一只大個(gè)兒的雄鹿就在附近,十分危險(xiǎn)。但當(dāng)比利跪下去的時(shí)候,雄鹿并未恐嚇?biāo)?甚至都不動(dòng)彈一下。然后,我看到地上躺著一只小鹿,一看就正飽受饑渴和酷熱的折磨。它費(fèi)勁地抬起頭,舔我兒子手中的水喝。 水喝完后,比利跳起來(lái)朝我們的房子跑去。我跟著他回到水龍頭前。比利擰開水龍頭,一股極細(xì)的水流緩緩流了出來(lái)。他跪在那里,讓一滴滴的水慢慢盛滿他小手做的"杯子"。
　　我這才知道比利在干什么。一周前,他用同樣的方法給我們的馬喂水,結(jié)果被他父親訓(xùn)了一頓,告誡他不要浪費(fèi)水。正因如此,他才沒(méi)有向我求助。足足用了20分鐘,他的小手才接滿水。他站起來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)身時(shí),我站在了他的面前。他的眼里滿是淚水,只說(shuō)了句:"我沒(méi)有浪費(fèi)水。"
　　這次我也加入了他的行動(dòng),從廚房拿了一小壺水。我讓比利自己照顧小鹿,因?yàn)槟鞘撬墓ぷ?而我只是站在樹林邊觀望。當(dāng)淚珠滑過(guò)我的臉頰,滴落到地上的時(shí)候,另一種水珠忽然也落了下來(lái),并且越來(lái)越多。我抬頭看看天。似乎上蒼也為此自豪地落淚。有些人可能會(huì)說(shuō)這不過(guò)是個(gè)極其偶然的巧合。我對(duì)此無(wú)話可說(shuō),我也不想為此辯解。我只能說(shuō)那一天下的雨挽救了我們的農(nóng)場(chǎng),正如一個(gè)小男孩拯救另一條生命的行動(dòng)一樣。
　　1.carefree adj. 無(wú)憂無(wú)慮的,輕松愉快的
　　2.air n. 樣子,行為方式
　　3.creep [kri:p] vi. 躡手躡腳地走,悄悄地行進(jìn);crept為其過(guò)去式
　　4.sneak [sni:k] v. 偷偷地走
　　5.buck n. <美> 雄鹿
　　6.lap up: <口>舔食,貪婪地吃(或喝)
　　7.spigot n. 水龍頭
　　8.trickle n. 細(xì)流,涓滴
　　9.tend to sb.: 照料某人
　　10.coincidence n. 巧合,同時(shí)發(fā)生或同時(shí)存在(尤指偶然)的事