作品原文

高晓声 《摆渡》

有四个人到了渡口，要到彼岸去。这四个人，一个是有钱的，一个是大力士，一个是有权的，一个是作家。他们都要求渡河。

摆渡人说："你们每一个人，谁把自己最宝贵的东西分一点给我，我就摆；谁不给，我就不渡他。"

有钱人给了点钱，上了船。

大力士举举拳头说："你吃得消这个吗？"也上了船。

有权的人说："你摆我过河以后，就别干这苦活了，跟我去做一点干净省力的事儿吧。"摆渡人听了高兴，扶他上了船。

最后轮到作家开口了。作家说："我最宝贵的，就是写作。不过一时也写不出来。我唱个歌儿给你听听吧。"

摆渡人说："歌儿我也会唱，谁要听你的！你如果实在没有甚么，唱一个也可以。唱得好，就让你过去。"

作家就唱了一个。摆渡人听了，摇摇头说："你唱的算甚么，还没有他（指有权的）说的好听。"说罢，不让作家上船，篙子一点，船就离了岸。

这时暮色已浓，作家又饿又冷，想着对岸家中，妻儿还在等他回去想办法买米烧夜饭吃，他一阵心酸，不禁仰天叹道："我平生没有作过孽，为甚么就没有路走了呢？"

摆渡人一听，又把船靠岸，说："你这一声叹，比刚才唱的好听，你把你最宝贵的东西──真情宝意分给了我。请上船吧！"

作家过了河。心里哈哈笑。他觉得摆渡人说得真好，作家没有真情实意，是应该无路可走的。

到了明天，作家想起摆渡人已跟那有权的走掉，没有人摆渡了，那怎么行呢？于是他就自动去做摆渡人。从此改了行。

作家摆渡，不受惑于财富，不屈从于权力；他以真情实意待渡客，并愿渡客以真情实意报之。

过了一阵之后，作家又觉得自己并未改行，原来创作同摆渡一样，目的都是把人渡到前面的彼岸去。

作品译文

The Ferry

Gao Xiaosheng

Four men came to the ferry.

Of the four, one was rich, one, burly, one, powerful, and one, a writer. they all wanted to be transported to the other shore of the river.

The ferryman said, "To get you across the river, you'll have to share your most valuable thing with me first. whoever doesn't do so will not get on my boat."

The burly man gave him some money and stepped onto the boat.

The powerful man said: "Once you get me across the river, you can quit this hard work and I'll find you some clean and easy money." Delighted, the ferryman helped him onto the boat.

Finally, it was the writer's turn. He said, "My most valuable thing is writing, but I can't come up with anything good for the moment. So I'll sing you a song instead."

The ferryman said: "I can hum a tune or two, too. Who wants to listen to you sing? Okay, if you really don't have anything else to offer, s song will do. But it has to be good. Otherwise."

So the writer sang a song.

The ferryman shook his head: "What kind of singing is that? Not even as good as him (indicating the powerful man) speaking!" With that, he pushed the boat away from the shore with his long pole, leaving the poor writer behind."

Dusk having thickened, the writer felt cold, hungry, and miserable. His wife and kids were waiting for him to come home and find money to buy things and cook supper, yet he was still stuck on this side of the river. "Oh, Heaven," he cried out aloud, "I have never done anything horrible my entire life. Why leave me nowhere to go?!"

Upon hearing this, the ferryman turned his boat around and came back. "This cry of yours, it sounded better than your singing. Since you've shared with me your most valuable thing—your genuine feelings, please get on the boat!"

So the writer crossed the river, his heart filled with happiness. The ferryman was right, he thought: Absent genuine feelings, a writer would have nowhere to go.

The next day, remembering that the ferryman had gone with the powerful man, the writer decided to go and step in. From that day on, a new from his passengers.

It dawned on the writer, about a year later, that he had never changed his livelihood because writing and ferrying were not that different after all: Both were about carrying people forward to the other shore.