海鸥乔纳森告诉成年人什么（JonathanLivingstonSeagull海鸥乔纳森）

《Jonathan Livingston Seagull》

海鸥乔纳森

作者：理查德·巴赫

(Richard D Bach)

[美国]

乔纳森是一只独立特行的海鸥，对于他，飞翔远比吃重要。他热爱飞翔胜过一切。他看到了与身俱来的优势、才能和技能，在学习飞翔中追求卓越，追求完美的状态。为此乔纳森瘦的皮包骨头，他的父母担心不已。鸥群也不接受他的这种太出格的行为，逼他许下誓言，如果他不能当一只正常的海鸥，他将被驱逐出鸥群。

梦想多么妖冶，乔纳森很快就将誓言抛到脑后，“一只在学习中追求卓越的海鸥，是不需要那种誓言的。”一次又一次忘我的飞翔，一次又一次地超越极限，最后，乔纳森这只海鸥，他成功地掌握了比雄鹰还要高超的飞行技巧，他回到鸥群，去引导更多怀揣梦想的海鸥，摒弃无聊、害怕和愤怒，去自由，去飞翔。“海鸥天生就是要飞翔的，自由是生命的本质，任何妨碍自由的东西都应该摒弃，不管什么形式的限制、宗教或是迷信都应该抛开。”

01

节选一

‎It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea.

早晨，初升的太阳照耀着恬静的海面，荡漾的微波闪着金光。

A mile from shore a fishing boat chummed the water and the word for Breakfast Flock flashed through the air, till a crowd of a thousand seagulls came to dodge and fight for bits of food. It was another busy day beginning.

离岸一英里的海上，一只渔船随波逐浪地前进，这是吃早饭的信号，近千只海鸥飞来，相互追逐着争食吃。又一个忙碌的日子开始了。

But way off alone, out by himself beyond boat and shore, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was practicing. A hundred feet in the sky he lowered his webbed feet, lifted his beak, and strained to old a painful hard twisting curve through his wings. The curve meant that he would fly slowly, and now he slowed until the wind was a whisper in his face, until the ocean stood still beneath him. He narrowed his eyes in fierce concentration, held his breath, forced one… single… more… inch… of… curve… Then his featliers ruffled, he stalled and fell.

但在远离渔船和海岸的地方，海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿独自在练习飞行。在百英尺的上空，他伸下两只带蹼的脚，仰起嘴，使劲儿弯着翅膀。翅膀一弯，就可以放慢速度。而现在，他越飞越慢了，慢得几乎听不到耳边的风声，慢得连脚下的大海也仿佛静止不动了。他眯起眼睛，集中精力，屏住呼吸，使劲儿想再……弯……那么一英寸……然后，他浑身的羽毛直坚，失去平衡，摔了下来。

02

节选二

So this is heaven, he thought, and he had to smile at himself. It was hardly respectful to analyze heaven in the very moment that one flies up to enter it.

原来这就是天堂，他心里想着，不禁暗自好笑。一飞过天堂，马上就对它进行猜度，似乎太不尊敬了

As he came from Earth now, above the clouds and in close formation with the two brilliant gulls, he saw that his own body was growing as bright as theirs. True, the same young Jonathan Seagull was there that had always lived behind his golden eyes, but the outer form had changed.

他从尘世飞升来到这里，与这两只光辉的海鸥紧紧排成行列。一同穿过云层。这会儿他发现自己的身体也和他们一样变成晶莹的了。的确，他的生活一向比他的金色眼睛看到的要更丰富，但还是这个年轻的乔纳森，现在连外貌也改变啦。

It felt like a seagull body, but alreadv it flew far better than his old one had ever flown. Why, with half the effort, he thought, I’ll get twice the speed, twice the performance of my best days on Earth!

身上的感觉还像只海鸥，但飞起来已和过去大不相同。他想：真怪，只要费一半力气，我的速度就比过去快了一倍。我的成就比在尘世最美好的日子翻了一番。

03

节选三

“Are you saying I can fly?”

“你是说我能飞啦？”

“I say you are free.”

“我是说你自由了。”

As simply and as quickly as that, Kirk Maynard Gull spread his wings, effortlessly, and lifted into the dark night air. The Flock was roused from sleep by his cry, as loud as he could scream it, from five hundred feet up: “I can fly! Listen! I CAN FLY!”

瞧，多么简单！多么快！海鸥梅纳德展开了双翅。毫不费力，一下子就飞入黑色的夜空。整个鸥群都被他的叫声从梦中惊醒。只听得他从五百英尺的高空拼命叫喊。“我能飞啦！听着！我能飞啦！”

By sunrise there were nearly a thousand birds standing outside the circle of students, looking curiously at Maynard. They didn’t care whether they were seen or not, and they listened, trying to understand Jonathan Seagull.

拂晓时分，有近千只海鸥站在乔纳森的学生圈子外面，好奇地望着梅纳德。他们已经不在乎是否会被别的海鸥看见，只是聚精会神地听着，努力去领会乔纳森的话。

He spoke of very simple things - that it is right for a guil to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.

他讲的是十分简单的道理，如；飞行是海鸥的本份，自由是海鸥的本性，凡是对自由有妨碍的，不管它是什么，都必须予以清除，不管是仪式也好，迷信也好，或是任何形式的限制也好。