第8章 Smiles 微笑

Poor lame Jennie sat at her window, looking out upon the dismal, narrow street, with a look of pain and weariness on her face. "Oh, dear," she said with a sigh, "what a long day this is going to be," and she looked wishfully up the street.

Suddenly she leaned forward and pressed her pale face against the glass, as a rosy-checked boy came racing down the street, swinging his schoolbooks by the strap. Looking up to the window, he took off his hat and bowed with a bright, pleasant smile.

"What a nice boy he is," said Jennie to herself, as he ran out of sight. "I am so glad he goes by here on his way to school. When he smiles, it seems like having the sun shine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up and smile."

"Mamma," said George West, as he came from school, "I can't help thinking about that poor little girl I told you of the other day. She looks so tired. I took off my hat and bowed to her to-day. I wish I could do something for her."

"Suppose you should carry her a handful of pretty flowers some time when you go to school," said Mrs. West. "I'll do that to-morrow morning," said George, "if I can find my way into that rickety old house."

The next morning, as Jennie sat leaning her head wearily against the window, watching the raindrops chasing one another down the glass, she spied George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window, and, smiling very pleasantly, said, "How shall I find the way to your room? "

Jennie pointed to an alley near by, where he turned in, and with some difficulty found his way to the dingy staircase. Opening the door to Jennie's gentle "Come in," he said, "I have brought you a handful of flowers to look at this rainy day."

"Are they for me?" exclaimed Jennie, clapping her hands in delight. "How kind you are," she continued, as George laid them in her lap. "I have not had a flower since we live in the city."

"Did you use to live in the country?" asked George. "Oh, yes," answered Jennie, "we used to live in a beautiful cottage, and there were trees and flowers and green grass, and the air was so sweet."

"Well, what made you move here?" "Oh," said Jennie, softly, "papa died, and mamma was sick so long that the money was all gone. Then mamma had to sell the cottage, and she moved here to try to get work to do."

"Do you have to sit here all day?" asked George, glancing around the bare room and out into the dismal street. "Yes," said Jennie, "because I am lame; but I would not care for that, if I could only help mamma."

"I declare, it's too bad!" said George, who dreaded nothing so much as being obliged to stay in the house. "Oh, no, it isn't," said Jennie, pleasantly; "mamma says maybe we should forget the Lord if we had everything we wanted, and He never forgets us, you know."

"Well, I must rush for school," said George, not knowing exactly what to say next; and he was soon out of Jennie's sight, but had a happy little corner in his heart, because he had tried to do a kind act. He did not know how much good he had done in making a pleasant day out of a dreary one for a little sick girl.

"Mamma," said George, that evening, after he had told her what Jennie said, "papa must give them some money, so they can go back to their home."

"No," said his mother; "he can not do that, and they would not wish him to do so;but perhaps he can help us contrive some way to assist them, so that they can live more comfortably."

"I am going to carry Jennie some of the grapes grandpa sent me, to-morrow," said George, turning over the leaves of his geography. "I will put some of my pears into your basket, and go with you," said his mother; "but there is one thing we can always give, and sometimes it does more good than nice things to eat, or even money."

"What is that, mamma, —smiles?" asked George, looking up. "Yes," answered his mother; "and it is a good plan to throw in a kind word or two with them when you can."

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可怜的跛脚珍妮坐在窗前，忧郁地望着狭长的街道，苍白的脸上布满痛苦和疲惫的神情。“哦，亲爱的，”她深深地叹了口气说，“又将是一个漫长的白天！”她一脸憧憬地看着街道。

突然，她的身体向前倾，苍白的脸颊贴在玻璃上。这时一个面色红润的小男孩从街的另一端走过来，他不时地晃动自己的书包。走到窗下时，他摘下帽子向珍妮致意，并露出了甜甜的微笑。

“多可爱的男孩啊！”当男孩从视线中消失之后，珍妮自言自语地说。“真高兴他在去学校的时候能经过我的窗前，他的笑容就像阳光一样灿烂。真希望每个人经过的时候都能向这儿望一眼，笑一笑。”

“妈妈，”乔治·威斯特放学回家后对妈妈说，“我总是会情不自禁地想起那天对您说的那个可怜的小女孩。她看起来非常疲惫，今天，在经过她窗前的时候，我摘下帽子向她致意，我希望能帮她做点什么。”

“改天去学校的时候，你可以买束漂亮的鲜花送给她。”威斯特夫人说。“明天早上我就去送，”乔治激动地说，“假如可以找到那所旧房子的入口！”

第二天早晨，珍妮无聊地把头靠在窗户上，看着雨滴一个接一个从玻璃上滑下来。正在这时，她看见乔治抱着一束鲜花，小心地从街边走过来。他走到她的窗边停下来，愉快地微笑着说：“我怎么才可以进到你的房子里面去？”

珍妮指了指旁边的小道，乔治费劲地找到一条小道，那条小道通向阴暗的楼梯。到门口，他听见珍妮温柔地说：“请进。”他说：“我给你带了一束花，在这下雨天你可以看一看。”

“这是给我的吗？”珍妮惊讶地说，她高兴地拍着手。“你真是太好了。”她继续说道。当乔治把花放在她腿上的时候，她激动地说：“自从搬到城里之后，我就没有见过鲜花。”

“你曾住在乡下吗？”乔治问。“嗯，是的，”珍妮回答，“我们曾住在一个漂亮的小屋里，那儿有高大的树、美丽的花、翠绿的草，空气非常清新。”

“那么，你们为什么要搬到城里来呢？”“噢，”珍妮轻轻地说，“爸爸去世了，妈妈病了好久，所有的钱都花光了，妈妈只好卖了小屋，她要搬到城里来找工作。”

“你一整天都坐在这儿吗？”乔治瞥了一眼空荡荡的房子，望向阴沉沉的街道。“是的，”珍妮说，“因为我的腿跛了，所以我必须待在家里，但是我不在乎，我很想帮妈妈。”

“真是太糟糕了！”乔治得去学校上课了，他不能在这里再多待一分钟。“哦，不，我想没那么糟，”珍妮愉快地说，“妈妈说过，我们拥有一切的时候也许会忘记耶稣，但是你知道，耶稣是从来不会忘记我们的。”

“天啊，看来我得跑着去学校了。”乔治说，接下来他也不知道应该说什么。他很快就从珍妮的眼前消失了，但是他心里非常高兴，因为他现在可以真正帮助别人了。然而，他不知道他所做的一切，使一个生病的小女孩高高兴兴地度过了一天。

那天晚上，乔治把珍妮的故事都告诉了妈妈。“妈妈，”乔治说，“爸爸一定可以给珍妮家一些钱的，那样她们就可以回到自己的家了。”

“不，”妈妈说，“爸爸不能那样做，她们也不会希望爸爸那样做，但是他也许可以帮我们想到一些让她们生活得比较好的方法。”

“明天我给珍妮带一些爷爷送给我的葡萄。”乔治翻着自己的地理书说道。“那么，我在篮子里放一些家里的梨，明天你一起带去给她，”妈妈说，“但是有一件更好的东西可以经常送给她的，它甚至比吃的东西和钱更有用。”

“那是什么，妈妈？是微笑吗？”乔治抬起头问道。“是的，”妈妈回答，“如果在微笑的同时再说一些鼓励的话，就更好了。”