父亲的心

A Father’s Heart

戴希

Dai Xi

姐姐匡惠比妹妹匡雪大两岁，她们却在同一个班里读小学。

The elder sister Intelligent Kuang was two years older than the younger sister Snow Kuang, but they were in the same class at primary school.

匡雪爱读书、肯钻研，考试成绩总是不错;匡惠贪玩、学习马虎，考试后经常愁眉苦脸。

Snow Kuang, being eager to read and willing to delve deep into the books, always got good marks in exams. On the contrary, Intelligent Kuang, being fond of play and sloppy at her study, often wore a pinched face after sitting exams.

父亲匡万里当过兵，对姐妹俩要求很严。每次考完，成绩差者回家没准挨揍。

Their father Ten Thousand Miles Kuang had previously been a soldier and was very strict with the two sisters. Every time they sat an exam, the one who got bad results might receive a beating.

母亲郑玉丽心疼女儿，起初好言劝阻，后又竭力阻拦，但都无济于事。父亲怒发冲冠时，在母亲面前也凶神恶煞似的。母亲无奈，只好避而远之。

Their loving mother Beautiful Jade Zheng first persuaded and then did her best to intercept the father, but neither worked. When the father bristled with rage, he was a fiendish god and evil spirit even before the mother. Unable to do anything, the mother had to keep a good distance.

每次考完，看到姐姐挨打的惨状，听着姐姐嘤嘤的哭泣，匡雪就全身发抖、内心惶恐。

Every exam had been sat, seeing the miserable spectacle of her elder sister being roughed up and hearing her sobs, Snow Kuang shivered all over and her heart was gripped by terror.

匡雪也想考差点儿，不让姐姐难堪，但她毕竟怕打啊!父亲那么凶、那么狠，仿佛他揍的不是自己的亲生女儿，而是一头猪、一只老鼠或者他要食肉寝皮的仇敌。没法儿，为了不使自己鼻青脸肿，她还得拼命考好。

What was more, Snow Kuang had even thought of performing a little less excellently in exams to save her elder sister from her embarrassment. But she was afraid of her father’s punches and kicks. Father was so mean and so ferocious. It seemed that he was not smacking his biological daughter but a pig, a mouse or a mortal enemy that he wanted to dine on his flesh and sleep on his hide. She had no alternative but to study for all she was worth so that she wouldn’t become indigo-nosed and swollen-faced.

好不容易熬到五年级上学期。

With great efforts, they managed it through until the first term of their fifth grade.

那次考数学，匡雪得了91分，匡惠只得了75分。当老师宣布完考分，拿到成绩单时，匡雪心里很踏实。

Snow Kuang got a 91 and Intelligent Kuang got only a 75 in the maths exam. After the teacher announced the marks and distributed their school reports, Snow Kuang felt very easy at heart.

姐姐又要挨打了!匡雪想，真是于心不忍啊。可是有什么办法?幸亏每回都有姐姐做挡箭牌，不然，水深火热的就是她了。

Elder Sister will get smacked again! Snow Kuang thought. She really couldn’t find the heart to think about it. But what could she do? Luckily, every time Elder Sister acted as the shield to take the arrows. Otherwise, she would be the one to struggle through deep waters and raging fires.

万万没有想到的是：回家后看过成绩单，父亲竟会青面獠牙地冲着她虎吼狼嗥，要对她拳脚相向!

Even so, she had never expected that after taking one glance at their school reports at home, Father would roar like a tiger and howl at her like a wolf, with an indigo face and bared fangs and mean to punch and kick at her!

匡雪惊慌、纳闷儿。

Snow Kuang was flustered and puzzled.

“爸，我考了91分，您还要打我?”她十分不满。

“Father, I got a 91 and you will still beat me?” She was in a huff.

“那你看看你姐考了多少?”父亲掏出匡惠的成绩单，在她的眼前晃了晃。

“Look how much your sister got?” Father produced Intelligent Kuang’s school report and waved before her eyes.

匡雪下意识地瞥了一眼：天啊，匡惠的成绩怎么变了?成了95分!

Snow Kuang shot a glimpse subconsciously: Oh, gosh. How could Intelligent Kuang’s marks have changed? It had become 95?

“爸，姐姐她……”匡雪很愤怒。

“Father, Elder Sister, she …” Snow Kuang was furious.

“她怎么啦?”父亲追问。

“What’s wrong with her?” Father pried.

匡雪又飞快地盯过去，发现匡惠虽在强打精神佯装镇静，但眼神却已掩饰不住心虚与内疚。

Snow Kuang looked again. Though Intelligent Kuang was still forcing herself to be spirited and composed, her eyes couldn’t hide her timidity and guilt.

只一瞬，匡雪就陡生怜悯，犹豫了。

At that moment, mercy grew in Snow Kuang’s heart and she hesitated.

“姐姐真的不错。这次她考得比我好，她读书很用功。”匡雪忽然改口。

“Elder Sister is really good. She did better than me this time because she threw herself in her study.” Snow Kuang suddenly changed her words.

“既然如此，兔子和乌龟赛跑的故事，我还得让你记牢!”父亲咬紧牙关说。

“Since this is the case, you should fix in your mind how the hare lost the race to the tortoise!” Father growled through gnashing teeth.

接下来，匡雪挨了父亲的一顿打，但匡雪始终挺住，不哭。

Next, Snow Kuang received a beating from her father, but she held her own throughout and never once cried.

倒是匡惠，跑得远远的，躲在一旁默默地落泪，眼泪就像断了线的珠子。

Intelligent Kuang, however, ran away and hid to one side sobbing silently, her tears rolling down like pearls from a broken string.

说来也怪，自此，匡惠俨然换了个人，读书发奋努力，成绩真与匡雪不相上下了。

Strange enough, ever since then, Intelligent Kuang changed into another girl and studied very hard. Now she could really do as well as Snow Kuang in exams.

父亲也一反常态地温厚，不再紧盯成绩单动辄大发雷霆。

Their father also changed and became very gentle and kind; no longer did he roar at them with his eyes gazing long and hard at their school reports.

光阴荏苒。几年后的高考，匡惠考上了湖南大学，匡雪则被南开大学录取。那段时间，父亲天天乐得合不拢嘴。

Time elapsed. Several years later after the college entrance exams, Intelligent Kuang was admitted to Hunan University and Snow Kuang to Nankai University. During those days, their father was so happy he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“可是，爸爸---”上大学前夕，匡惠忐忑不安地走近父亲，“有件事的真相我不得不告诉您啊!”

“However, Father –” Before she went to the university, Intelligent Kuang walked to her father uneasily. “There is one thing I must tell you!”

“你想重提那次数学考试?”父亲微微一笑，“还是别说了吧，我知道你悄悄地改了考分!”

“You want to bring up that math exam again?” Father smiled. “Forget about it. I knew you had changed your marks secretly!”

匡惠大惊：“妹妹告诉您啦?”

Intelligent Kuang was surprised greatly. “Younger Sister told you?”

父亲赶紧摇头：“没有哩!你以为你把7改为9改得天衣无缝，我真的看不出来?”

Father shook his head immediately. “No! You thought that you had changed ‘7’ into ‘9’ like a seamless heavenly gown and that I really couldn’t see through it?”

“您是说您当时就已发现?”匡惠脸红。

“You mean you detected it right at that moment?” Intelligent Kuang’s face turned red.

“是啊!”父亲回答，“退一步来说，即使当时你蒙骗了我，出现这么大的异常，事后我也会问问老师的!”

“Yeah!” Father replied. “Let’s step backwards a pace to talk about it. Though you succeeded in hoodwinking me back then, I would still go and check up with your teacher afterwards!”

“唉!”匡惠感叹。

“Ah!” Intelligent Kuang sighed.

直到这时，匡惠才知道什么是情同手足，什么叫父爱如山。她被妹妹和父亲的良苦用心深深感动，眼泪禁不住夺眶而出。

Not until now did Intelligent Kuang know what “as close as hands and legs to one single body” was and what “A father’s love is as great as the mountains” meant. Moved deeply by the care and concern of her younger sister and her father, she burst into tears.

(原载《散文百家》2015年第7期，转载于《小小说选刊》2015年第8期、《读写月报：初中版》2015年第12期，选入《当代文学作品选粹2015》)