the family had just moved to rhode island，and the young woman was feeling a little melancholy on that sunday in may. after all，it was mother's day--and 800 miles separated her from her parents in ohio.

一家人剛移居羅德島。5月的那個星期天，年輕女人感到有點兒憂傷。畢竟，這一天是母親節─而她卻與俄亥俄州的父母親遙距800英里。

she had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy mother's day，and her mother had mentioned how colorful the yard was now that spring had arrived. as they talked，the younger woman could almost smell the tantalizing aroma of purple lilacs hanging on the big bush outside her parents'back door.

她那天早上給母親打去電話，祝母親節日愉快。隨后，她的母親向她提起，因為春天已經來臨，所以院子里的色彩是多么絢麗。在她們通話的當兒，年輕女人幾乎可以聞到懸垂在父母親后門外大灌木叢上的紫丁香醉人的芬芳。

later，when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs，he popped up from his chair. "i know where we can find you all you want，"he said. "get the kids and c'mon. "

后來，她向丈夫說起她是如何懷念那些紫丁香時，他突然從椅子上躍起。"我知道在哪兒能找到你想要的東西，"他說，"帶上孩子，走吧。"

so off they went，driving the country roads of northern rhode island on the kind of day only mid－may can produce：sparkling sunshine，unclouded azure skies and vibrant newness of the green growing all around. they went past small villages and burgeoning housing developments，past abandoned apple orchards，back to where trees and brush have devoured old homesteads.11:33 2009-5-13www.ryedu.net

于是，他們就出發了，驅車行駛在羅德島北部的鄉村小路上，那種天氣只有５月中旬才會有：閃亮的陽光、蔚藍色的晴空以及生機勃勃、隨處可見的綠意。他們穿過一座座小村莊和一座座拔地而起的房屋，穿過廢棄的蘋果園，來到了樹林和灌木叢掩映的老農場。

where they stopped，dense thickets of cedars and ju nipers and birch crowded the roadway on both sides. there wasn't a lilac bush in sight.

他們停下車。車道兩邊長滿了茂盛的雪松、杜松和白樺樹。眼前沒有一棵紫丁香。

"come with me，"the man said. "over that hill is an old cellar hole，from somebody's farm of years ago，and there are lilacs all round it. the man who owns this land said i could poke around here anytime. i'm sure he won't mind if we pick a few lilacs. "

"隨我來，"那個男人說，"翻過那座小山，有個老地窖，幾年前是一個人的農場，四周長滿了紫丁香。這塊地的主人說我可以隨時到這兒來閑逛。我相信，要是我們采幾束紫丁香，他不會介意。"

before they got halfway up the hill，the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them，and the kids started running. soon，the mother began running，too，until she reached the top.

還沒等他們到達半山腰，紫丁香的芬芳已經向他們飄了過來。于是，孩子們開始奔跑。不久，那位母親也開始跑起來，直至到達山頂。

there，far from view of passing motorists and hidden from encroaching civilization，were the towering lilacs bushes，so laden with the huge，cone-shaped flower clusters that they almost bent double. with a smile，the young woman rushed up to the nearest bush and buried her face in the flowers，drinking in the fragrance and the memories it recalled.

那里，遠離了過往司機的視野，避開了紛擾的文明世界，高聳的丁香花叢開滿了碩大的圓錐形的串串花束，幾乎把花莖壓成了兩折。那個年輕女人微笑著沖到最近的一處花叢，把臉埋在鮮花中，啜飲著芳香，陶醉在重新喚起的記憶中。

　while the man examined the cellar hole and tried to explain to the children what the house must have looked like，the woman drifted among the lilacs. carefully，she chose a sprig here，another one there，and clipped them with her husband's pocket knife. she was in no hurry，relishing each blossom as a rare and delicate treasure.