無聲的尊重

A kind of silent respect

無聲的背後，飽含著溫暖與尊重……這來自我在德國的切身感受。

Behind the silence there are full of warmth and respect...it has been my personal feeling obtained from being in Germany. 

一個冬日的傍晚，我如往常一樣加入候車隊伍。候車的有五六個人，有序而安靜。此時，一個人牽著一只狗，從遠處走來。暮色下，那身影被路邊的燈光鑲上一層金邊，尤為醒目。

A winter evening, I queued up in a line for bus as usual; there were five or six persons on the line, orederly and quiet.  At that moment, a man who pulled along a dog was approaching from some distance away.  The figure was especially conspicuous as it had been silhouetted with a layer of golden lacing against the street light at dusk. 

漸行漸近，只見年輕男子高大魁梧，腰板挺直，緊貼著他的德國牧羊犬配有專業的拉桿——這是導盲犬的標準裝備。哦，是一位盲人。我見那男子徐徐走向車站，在候車隊伍的不遠處停了下來。

It was a young gentleman, burly and straightly-backed , as he came near enough to show himself up.  Stuck close to him was a German Shepherd chained with a professional handling cane, the standard equipment for guide dogs for the blind.  Well, he was a blind man alright.  I saw that man proceeding slowly towards the bus stop, halting at somewhere not far from the waiting line.   

沒有人招呼那盲人男子，我也猶豫著是否上前領他過來，卻見候車隊伍中為首的中年男子，瞬間收起手中正在閱讀的書籍，已然大跨步走到盲人男子身後，其他候車人也陸續緊隨其後，沒有一絲騷動。我身旁一個火紅短發打扮成朋克風格的女孩，瞥了一眼導盲犬，想必是怕煙味影響到它的嗅覺，稍作遲疑後掐滅了剛剛點燃的煙，跟了過去。

While no one in the line was trying to accost him, and while I was wondering if I should lead him to the line, the middle-aged gentleman at the very front of the line instantly stopped reading, closed his book, and strode to the rear of that blind man and other passengers just followed suit without causing a slight of commotion.  A hot, short-haired, and Punk-styled girl next to me shot a glance at the guide dog, then hesitated a little bit as she snuffed her just-lit cigarette lest the smoke should affect the smell of the dog, then she follow suit, too. 
  
一個新的候車隊伍，在一人一狗的身後排開。陌生的人們在無聲之中達成的默契，令我驚異。沈默依舊，直到公車到來。“您稍等一下，我這就……”司機剛要離開駕駛座準備攙扶盲人男子上車，卻被他禮貌地回絕了：“謝謝，不用。”盲人男子執意在導盲犬的引領下，自行上車。

It suprised me to see a new waiting line thus was formed behind the man and the dog by a tacit agreement among strangers.  Silence continued until a bus was coming.  No sooner had the bus driver prepared to leave his seat to help the blind man by saying "Just a moment, I'm going...", than the latter politely declined, "No, thanks."  He insisted that he let his dog guide him to get on the bus all by themselves.         

正值下班高峰，車上已滿是乘客。然而，自那名男子上車後，人們迅速向後部集中，在狹促的車廂裏為他騰出了一小塊空間。緊挨著司機身後，坐著一位六七歲的小男孩，站在旁邊的媽媽猛地拉起小男孩，讓出了座位。雖然媽媽舉動突然，但乖巧的小男孩沒有流露出一絲不悅。導盲犬擡頭看了一眼，便將主人引領到空座上，然後靜靜地趴在一旁。

It was rush hour, and the bus was fully loaded.  Nonetheless, as the blind man was onboard, all passengers swiftly moved towards the rear of the bus so as to make a small room for the him.  stuck close to the driver sat a young boy of six or seven year's old, and his mother, standing beside him, jerked him up to yield the seat.  Despite his mother's unexpected move, the boy etched no unpleasant look at all.  Raising its head and taking a look, the dog led its master to the already empty seat, and then it crouched quietly by his side.        

“您好，您要去哪裏？”“您好！我要去莫爾大街。”“好的，陛下！”司機詼諧的回答惹得車內一陣歡笑。汽車載著歡樂的人們繼續前行……

"Hello, where are you going to?" "How are you doing, I'm going to Mohr Avenue." "Alright, Your Majesty!"  The driver's humorous remarks sparked off bursts of joyful laughters, carrying the delighted passengers to move on. 

車上，人們都在默默地打量著憨態可掬的導盲犬：即使在急轉彎的時候，它也搖頭晃腦地努力保持直視前方的姿態，神情專注。與平日裏對待寵物狗的情形不同，沒有人試圖靠近去撫摸它，或是用手機拍照。我旁邊那位剛剛讓座的小男孩，慢慢舉起手中啃了一半的麵包，想上前去餵它，被媽媽及時制止並悄聲耳語：“它在工作，有自己的職責，不要打擾它。”聽到“工作”一詞，小朋友立刻縮手退了回來。

In the bus, people silently stared at that cute, innocent-looking guide dog which was trying hard to concetrate on keeping a forward-looking position by adjusting its head even when the bus was making sharp turns.  No one on the bus intended to treat it like a pet by trying to caress it or using one's smart phone to take a photo on it.  The boy by my side, who just yield his seat, tried to feed the dog with the half of his uneaten bread on his hands, but his mother immediately stopped him and whispered to him, "It is doing its job right now, that's its duty; just don't bother it."  Upon hearing the word "job", the boy at once took his hand back.    

小城不大，男子很快到站了，跟司機簡短道別後，與導盲犬下了車。公交車內沈默依舊。而此時的我，在沈默中體會到了無聲的關愛、深沈的尊重。

The blind man soon reached his destination in this small town.  After bidding a brief leave-taking to the driver, he and his dog dismounted from the bus.  Now I was immersed in the silence from which I learned what had been the cares without a word as well as the respects from deep down.


窗外，寒風習習；心裏，暖意融融…

Outside the window, chilly wind blew; inside my heart, warm feeling glowed.