提要

這是北美原住民「奧吉布瓦部落」的一則傳說，敘述冬日結束、春季降臨，季節交替的情形。

我們居住的地方，也正是乍暖還寒、萬物復甦的時節。迎接新學期，不必感慨過去的消逝，應該朝氣蓬勃的把握現在，努力迎接充滿新希望的未來。



An old man was sitting in his lodge, by the side of a frozen stream. It was the end of winter, the air was not so cold, and his fire was nearly out. He was old and alone, trembled in every joint. Day after day passed, and he heard nothing but the sound of the storm sweeping before it the new fallen snow.

One day while his fire was dying, a handsome young man approached and entered the lodge. His cheeks were red, his eyes sparkled. He walked with a quick, light step. His forehead was bound with a wreath of sweet grass, and he carried a bunch of fragrant flowers in his hand.

“Ah, my son,” said the old man, “I am happy to see you. Come in! Tell me your adventures, and what strange lands you have seen. I will tell you of my wonderful deeds, and what I can perform. You shall do the same, and we will amuse each other.”

“I am Peboan, the Spirit of Winter,” said the old man. “I blow my breath, and the streams stand still. The water becomes stiff and hard as clear stone.”

“I am Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring,” answered the youth. “I breathe, and flowers spring up in the meadows and woods.”

“I shake my locks,” said the old man, “and snow covers the land. The leaves fall from the trees, and my breath blows them away. The birds fly to a distant land, and the animals hide themselves from the cold.”

“I shake my ringlets,” said the young man, “and warm showers of soft rain fall upon the earth. The flowers lift their heads from the ground, the grass grows thick and green. My voice recalls the birds, and they come flying joyfully from the Southland. The warmth of my breath unbinds the streams, music fills the groves whereever I walk, and all nature rejoices.”

And while they were talking thus a wonderful change took place. The sun began to rise. A gentle warmth stole over the place. Peboan, the Spirit of Winter, became silent. His head drooped, and the snow outside the lodge melted away.

Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring, grew more radiant, and rose joyfully to his feet. The robin and the bluebird began to sing on the top of the lodge. The stream began to murmur at the door, and the fragrance of opening flowers came softly on the breeze.

Thus the Spirit of Winter departed, and where he had melted away, there the Indian children gathered the first blossoms, fragrant and delicately pink - the modest Spring Beauty.



解說



一位老人坐在他位於冰凍溪流旁的小屋，冬季結束了，空氣也不再那麼冰冷。面前的火即將燒盡，老人看起來蒼老又孤獨，全身的每一個關節都顫抖著。一天又一天過去了，除了降雪前的風暴呼嘯，他什麼也聽不到。

有一天，一個英俊的青年輕步伐輕快地進小屋。他的臉頰泛紅、目光炯炯。額前戴甜草圈、手捧一束芬芳的花朵。

「啊，年輕人」，老人說，「很高興見到你，進來吧！告訴我你的精采事蹟、經過哪些地方；我也會告訴你我都做了些什麼。我們彼此的分享，應該都會讓對方覺得有趣！」

「我名叫『皮朋』，冬季的精靈，」老人說，「 我吹一口氣，溪流立即停滯不前，水變成透明的堅石！」

「我叫『喜觀』，春天的精靈，」年輕人回答， 「我吹氣，花朵就會開滿樹林與草原。」

「我搖一搖我的髮辮」，老人「皮朋」說，「土地會被雪覆蓋、葉子從樹上掉落、鳥兒飛到遠方、動物藏起來，躲避寒冷。」

「我搖搖我的捲髮，」年輕人「喜觀」說，「溫暖的雨水滋潤大地 、花朵抬頭挺胸、草地變得翠綠茂密。我喚回遠避南國的鳥兒，溪流融冰流動，到處充滿音樂、喜悅油然而生。」

當他們在談論時，奇妙的變化發生了：太陽上升、溫暖處處。冬季的精靈皮朋垂頭喪氣、變得沉默，小屋外面的雪消融無蹤。

春天的精靈「喜觀」變得更容光煥發、挺直站立。知更鳥和藍鳥在屋頂唱歌、門前流水淙淙、空氣中滿是花朵的芬芳。

冬去春來，當地的印地安孩子收集的第一批盛開的花朵，一捧芬芳嬌美的粉紅，象徵溫婉美麗的春天。