The Green, Green Grass of Home 青青家乡草

When Mike was 2, he wanted a sandbox, and his father said: "There goes the yard.  We'll have kids over here day and night, and they'll throw sand into the flower beds, and cats will make a mess in it, and it'll kill the grass for sure."

And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."

When Mike was 5, he wanted a jungle gym set with swings that would take his breath away and bars to take him to the summit, and his father said: "Good grief, I've seen those things in back yards, and do you know what they look like? Mud holes in a pasture. Kids digging their gym shoes in the ground. It'll kill the grass."

And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."

Between breaths, when Daddy was blowing up the plastic swimming pool, he warned: "You know what they're going to do to this place? They're going to condemn it and use it for a missile site. I hope you know what you're doing. They'll track water everywhere and have a million water fights, and you won't be able to take out the garbage without stepping in mud up to your neck. When we take this down, we'll have the only brown lawn on the block."

"It'll come back," Mike's mother said.

When Mike was 12, he volunteered his yard for a campout. As they hoisted the tents and drove in the spikes, his father stood at the window and observed, "Why don't I just put the grass seed out in cereal bowls for the birds and save myself the trouble of spreading it around? You know for a fact that those tents and all those big feet are going to trample down every single blade of grass, don't you. Don't bother to answer. I know what you're going to say. ‘It'll come back.’”

The basketball hoop on the side of the garage attracted more crowds than the Olympics. And a small patch of lawn that started out with a barren spot the size of a garbage can lid soon drew to encompass the entire side yard.

Just when it looked as if the new seed might take root, the winter came and the sled runners beat it into ridges. Mike's father shook his head and said, "I never asked for much in this life - only a patch of grass."

And his wife smiled and said, "It'll come back."

The lawn this fall was beautiful. It was green and alive and rolled out like a sponge carpet along the drive where gym shoes had trod ... along the garage where bicycles used to fall ... and around the flower beds where little boys used to dig with iced-tea spoons.

But Mike's father never saw it. He anxiously looked beyond the yard and asked with a catch in his voice, "he will come back, won't he?"

by Erma Bombeck, written November 1971

部分词语解释：

There goes the yard：我们的院子完了。

a jungle gym set：攀缘游戏架

Good grief: 天啊；真倒霉

Between breaths：上气不接下气

with a catch in his voice：声音哽咽

标题取自一首反越战美国民歌的歌名。美国xx乡村歌曲《Green,Green Grass Of Home 青青家乡草》是由美国歌曲作者Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. 在1964年创作。歌中描写一个即将被处决的囚犯，仿佛回到家乡，触摸到家乡的青草和看到儿时的情景。忽然发现身处高墙之内，周围是狱卒和为他祷告的牧师，原来是南柯一梦。但他坚信，他死后，家人会把他埋葬在家乡的青草下。Erma Bombeck (1927~1996),美国xx女作家，记者。

Lyrics of Song "The Green, Green Grass of Home"

The old home town looks the same,
As I step down from the train,
And there to meet me is my mama and papa
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home

Yes, they'll all be there to meet me,
All creatures smiling sweetly
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home

The old house is still standing,
Though the paint is cracked and dry
And there's an old oak tree that I used to play on
Down the lane I'll walk with my sweet Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home

Then I awake and look around me
Cold gray walls surround me
And I realize that I was only dreamin'
There's a guard and there's a sad old padre
Arm and arm we'll walk at daybreak
Again I'll touch the green, green grass of home

Yes, they'll all be there to meet me
In the shadow of that old oak tree
As they lay me beneath the green, green grass of home

我走下火车，家乡小镇还是老样；
迎上来的是我爹我妈，
路上奔过来的，是玛丽----
一张樱桃红唇，一头金发……
啊，能触摸家门前的绿草地，实在太好！

是的，他们都会这样来迎接我，
世界一切都充满了甜蜜的欢笑，
啊，能触摸家门前的绿草地，实在太好！

那房子还是老样，
虽然油漆干裂脱落，
还有那棵儿时攀爬的橡树，
下面这条，就是我和玛丽常走的小路----
一张樱桃红唇，一头金发……
啊，能再次触摸家门前的绿草地，实在太好！

然后，我张开了眼，
看看周围，冰冷的灰墙环绕着我----
刚才的一切，毕竟是个梦！
只见到警卫，还有那个愁容满面的老神父；
放风的时候，我们就这样手挽手，挨个走。
但是，我总会触摸到家门前的绿草地。

是啊，他们将会这样迎接我，
就在那老橡树的树荫里，
把我放下，让我躺卧在
那家门前的绿草地下。

以下是中国版的“小故事 大道理”翻译---令人不明白的是，这翻译怎么能这样缺斤少两？

珍惜童年

      迈克三岁时想要个沙箱，但是父亲说：“院子里的草坪看来要完了。日夜都会有孩子过来，到处撒沙子，青草一定会枯萎的。”

     迈克五岁时要一套攀登架连同可以荡得又高又险的秋千，和一些可以助他攀上架顶的横杠。父亲说：“那还了得？我见过有些院子装了这种东西，草地上满是泥坑，孩子们穿运动鞋在地上乱踩，准把青草都给糟蹋了。”

     迈克的母亲却说：“草会再生的。”

     迈克十二岁时请小朋友在自己的院子里露营。他打桩立帐篷时，父亲见了，说：“你知不知道帐篷会毁坏草地?孩子们会把每一根草都踩死!不用提了，我知道你还是那一套——‘草会再生的’!”

今年迈克十八岁了，院子里的草长得真好看，青葱而茂密。车道两旁再没有小孩子穿着运动鞋践踏，花坛四周也没有小孩子拿汤匙挖泥土。

     可是迈克的父亲并没有理会这些，只顾焦急地望着院子外面问：“迈克会回来吗?”