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Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn’t seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment. He began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - and that thought now controlled his life.
Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence.
The following morning, the nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away--no words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
【助讀詞匯】
◇drain vt. 排走
◇fluid n. 流體
◇on end連續地
◇picturesque adj. 繪聲繪色的
◇ferment vt. 發酵
◇brood vi. 沉思
◇prop vt. 支撐
◇strain 盡力
【參考譯文】
窗戶
兩個病重的男人住在同一個病房。其中一個每天可以在床上坐一個小時排除肺里的液體，他的床靠著病房唯一的窗戶。而另一個則只能整天都躺在床上。
兩個男人可以連續說上幾個小時。他們討論他們的妻子和其他家庭成員，他們的家、工作、參軍的事和度假時曾經去過的地方。每天下午，當靠窗的男人可以坐起來時，他就會向室友描述他從窗外可以看到的一切事物。
另一張病床上的男人幾乎每天就是為這一小時而活，因為外面世界所有的活動和色彩讓他的世界變寬了，也有活力了。從窗戶可以俯瞰一個公園，公園里有一個動人的湖，這都是那個男人說的。鴨子和天鵝在水里嬉戲，而孩子們則玩著他們的模型船。情人們手挽手散步，擁有著彩虹般顏色的花兒開得絢爛多姿。巨大的老樹讓景色更加優美，還可以將遠處整個城市的輪廓盡收眼底。當窗邊的男人描繪著所有這些美妙的細節時，另一個男人就會閉上眼睛并想象這如畫般美好的景色。
一個溫暖的下午，窗邊的男人又一次為室友描述了一個經過的游行。雖然另一個男人聽不見外面的樂隊，他可以在自己的腦海中看到窗邊的男人用生動的語言描繪的這一切。突然，一個非常陌生的想法進入了他的腦海：為什么他可以擁有可以看見一切的所有樂趣而我卻從來都看不到呢？這不公平。當這個想法剛剛騷動時，這個男人還為此感到羞愧。但是隨著時間的流逝，他渴望看到更多景色，于是嫉妒變成了忿恨。他開始沉思并開始失眠。他應該睡靠窗的那張床——這個想法現在已經控制了他的生活。
一天深夜，當他躺在床上看著屋頂時，窗邊的男人開始咳嗽。他肺里的液體讓他感到窒息。另一個男人在昏暗的房間里看著窗邊的男人掙扎著摸索求救按鈕，他在房間的另一頭聽著，卻沒有動，他沒有按下本可以把護士叫過來的按鈕。不到五分鐘，咳嗽聲和窒息聲停止了，跟著停止的還有呼吸聲。現在房間里只有安靜——死一般的安靜。
第二天早上，護士搬來了水給他們洗澡。當她發現窗邊的男人已毫無生命跡象時，她感到非常傷心，并叫來了專職護士把尸體運走——沒有說話，也沒有混亂。一到適合的時機，男人便問護士是否可以換到靠窗的病床上去，護士很樂意。在確定他沒有感到什么不舒服之后，護士就讓他一個人待著了。
慢慢地，他困難地用一個手肘把自己撐起來，去看第一眼。終于他就要能夠感受到親眼看到一切的樂趣了。他盡量慢慢地把頭轉過去往床邊的窗戶望出去。卻發現看到的是一堵什么都沒有的墻。
【人生啟迪】
費盡心思想要得到快樂，卻失去了自己唯一的快樂，還讓那樣一個好人無辜死去。可是一切都晚了。我們可以想象這個男人在看到那堵墻時的心理，那一定是百感交集的吧。其實快樂只是一種選擇，一種心態。只要我們隨時都保持一種積極的心態，那么生活中處處都充滿著陽光，那個靠窗的男人不就是一個很好的例子嗎？
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