第15章 Father's White Ribbons

On a train to Smithville,a man happened to sit down next to the young man no more than 17 years old.Because the boy was tense,the man wondered what could be worrying him.Whatever it was,the boy's tension was clear.

The boy kept staring out of the window,paying no attention to anyone else on the train.The man opened up a book and started reading.Now and then,he would look up and see the boy's face pressed against the window.He sensed that the boy was fighting to keep from crying.This was how they traveled through the night—the man attempting to read and the boy staring out of the window.

Finally,the boy asked the man,"Do you know what time it is?And do you know when we are to arrive at Smithville?"

The man gave the boy the time,and went on to say,"Smithville,that's a very small town,isn't it?I didn't know the train stopped there.""It usually doesn't,"said the boy,"But they said that they would stop there for me so that I could get off—If I decide to.I used to live there."

The boy returned to the window and the man to his book.It was quite a while before conversation began once again.But when it did,the boy told the man the whole story of his life."Four years ago,"he said,"I did something very bad,so bad that I had to run away from home.I couldn't face my father.So I left without even saying goodbye to him.Since then,I have worked here and there.I never stayed very long in one place.I've been pretty lonely.Until finally,I decided that I want to go back to my father's house."

The man went on to ask,"Does your father know you're coming?And the boy responded,"He knows I'm coming,but I don't know if he will be there.I sent him a letter.I didn't know if he would still want me back.I wasn't sure if he would forgive me.So in my letter,I said that I would come home if he wanted me to.I told him that if he wanted me to come home,he could put a sign on a tree which is a few hundred yards before the railroad station in Smithville.I told him that I would look for a white ribbon on one of the branches of that tree as the train passes.If there is a white ribbon on the tree,then I'll get off.If not,then I'll just keep on riding to wherever this train goes."

The two of them were now waiting for Smithville.Suddenly,the boy asked,"Will you do me a favor?Will you please look for me?I'm scared to look for that ribbon on the tree."Now involved,the man agreed and took a turn staring out the window for a ribbon on a tree.

A few moments later,the conductor came down the aisle and called out,"Next stop—Smithville."The boy could not move.The man,however,looked as hard as could.And then he saw it!He shouted so loud that all the people in the train turned around."It's there!Look!The tree is covered with white ribbons!Not just one—there's a whole bunch!"

The father had every reason not to put up a white ribbon—and yet he did.Only a father whose love is real could blanket the tree with white ribbons,each one of them proclaiming reconciliation.

父亲的白丝带

在驶往史密斯维尔的列车上，一位男士碰巧在一个不满17岁的年轻小伙旁边坐下来。男孩紧张不安，男士不知道是什么使他焦虑不安。无论是什么，男孩的紧张显而易见。

男孩一直盯着窗外，对列车上其他人毫不关注。男士打开本书开始阅读。时不时地，他会抬起头看看男孩紧贴在窗户上的脸。他感到男孩正在努力忍着不哭出来。他们就是这样彻夜旅行的——男士试图阅读，男孩则注视着窗外。

后来，男孩问男士：“你知道几点了吗？你知不知道我们什么时候能到史密斯维尔呢？”

男士告诉男孩时间，继续说道：“史密斯维尔，那是个很小的城镇，是吗？我不知道列车会在那儿停。”“一般不停，”男孩说，“可是，他们说他们会为我在那儿停车，这样我就能下去了——如果我决定的话。我过去住那里。”

男孩转向窗户，男士继续看书，过了好一会儿才又开始交谈。但话题一开，男孩给男士讲述了他全部的生活。“四年前，”他说，“我干了些很糟糕的事情，实在是太糟糕了，我只能逃离家乡，无法面对父亲。因此，我甚至都没有跟他道别就离开了。从那以后，我到处干活，从来没有在一个地方待很久。我非常孤独，直到后来，我决定要返回父亲的家。”

男士接着问道：“你父亲知道你来了吗？”男孩答道：“他知道我来了，但我不知道他会不会在那里，我托人给他捎了封信，我不知道他是否还愿意我回来，我也不确定他会不会原谅我。所以，在信里，我说我会回家，如果他想让我回来，他可以在史密斯维尔列车站台前一百码外的一棵树上做个标记。我告诉他火车经过时我会在那棵树的枝头寻找一条白色丝带。如果树上有白丝带，我就下车。如果没有，我就继续乘车到这列火车驶往的任何地方。”

他们两个现在等待着史密斯维尔。突然，男孩问道：“您能帮我个忙吗？您能帮我找找吗？我不敢在树上寻找丝带。”已经牵连进来，男士答应下来，两人轮流盯着窗外寻找树上的丝带。

过了一会儿，乘务员走下过道喊道：“下一站——史密斯维尔。”男孩动弹不得。那个男士仍然尽力寻找着。接着，他看到了！他声音那么高，列车里所有的人都转过头来。“在那里！瞧！那棵树满是白色丝带！不仅是一条——满枝都是！”

那位父亲有足够的理由不去挂白丝带——但他挂了。只有胸怀真爱的父亲才会用白丝带将树覆盖，每条白丝带都表达了和解之意。