約翰正在等一個女孩，他們已經通信長達一年多，彼此深交已久，但卻素未謀面。女孩告訴他，自己會把一朵紅玫瑰別在衣領上。到了約定時間，約翰看見一位身穿綠色衣服的年輕女子，她貌美如花，但就在這時他又看見了一位別著紅玫瑰的中年女人……

John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose. Thirteen months ago, in a Florida library he took a book off the shelf and found himself intrigued with the notes in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

約翰正在等一個帶著玫瑰花的女孩，他和她深交已久，卻素未謀面。13個月前，在佛羅里達的圖書館里他從書架上拿下一本書。寫在書的空白處的批注引起了他的興趣。從柔和的字跡可以看出，這是自一位有思想、有見解的人。

In front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

他從書皮上發現了這本書原來主人的名字——哈里斯·瑪尼爾小姐。他花了一些時間和精力，最后終于找到了她的地址。他給她寫了一封信，信中做了自我介紹，并邀請她回信。

During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A Romance was budding. John requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like. Later they scheduled their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.

在隨后的一年零一個月里，兩個人通過信件加深了彼此之間的了解。一段浪漫的故事正在慢慢孕育。約翰要求她寄一張照片來，但她卻拒絕了。她覺得如果他真的在乎她，那么她長相如何并不重要。后來他們安排了他們的第一次見面——晚上七點鐘在紐約中心火車站。

"You’ll recognize me, ” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.

“你會認出我的，”她寫道，“我會把一朵紅玫瑰別在衣領上。”所以那天晚上七點鐘他就在車站尋找那位帶著紅玫瑰的女孩。

A young woman in a green suit was coming toward him, her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40. The girl was walking quickly away. He felt as though he split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld his own.

一位身穿綠色衣服的年輕女子向他走來，她身材修長而苗條，眼睛藍藍的，美如鮮花。他幾乎是不由自主地向她走進近。就在那時，他看見了——哈里斯·瑪尼爾 ——一位年過40的女人。女孩很快地走開了。他感覺自己好像被分裂成了兩半——他是多么強烈地想跟隨這位年輕女子，然而又是如此深深地向往這位在心靈上陪伴他、鼓舞他的女人。

He did not hesitate. He squared his shoulders and said, “I’m John, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?”

他沒有遲疑，挺起胸膛，說道，“我是約翰，你一定是瑪尼爾小姐吧。我很高興你來和我相見，我能請你吃飯嗎？”

The woman smiled, “I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered, “but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”

女人笑了笑，回答說：“孩子，我不知道這是怎么回事，但是那位穿綠衣的年輕女子請求我把這朵玫瑰別在我的外套上面。她說如果你邀請我吃飯的話，我就告訴你她在馬路對面的餐廳等你。她說這是一種考驗！”

It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in it’s response to the unattractive.

瑪尼爾小姐的智慧讓人敬佩。一個人對那些平淡無奇的事物的表現恰恰反映出他內心的本質。

相關閱讀

英調查揭示女人心目中完美男人

最后一罐果子凍

你才是我的幸福

大紅裙

（來源：中國英語網 編輯：中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮）