如果你想聽我的故事，就需要有一點耐心，不然的話，你會連我真正的樣子都看不清。

If you want to hear my story, you will need a little patience; otherwise, you will not even be able to see what I look like.

...... 撰文 周宗偉 Text by Zhou Zongwei ...... 繪圖 朱贏椿 Illustrations by Zhu Yingchun ......

我走得很慢很慢，

I plod along as slow as slow can be,

并不是因為我懶散，

Not because I am lazy,

而是我天生一副柔弱微小的身體，

But because I was born with this tiny frail physique.

只能背著殼緩緩地爬行。

I can only crawl along slowly, bearing this shell on my back.

雖然我走得很慢，

Although I walk very slowly

但走路已變成了習(xí)慣。

I have gotten into the habit of walking.

走路本身機械又枯燥，

Walking itself is mechanical and dull,

可停下來反而更覺無聊。

Yet I feel even more bored standing still.

無論路上的風(fēng)景如何絢爛，

No matter how splendid the roadside scenery is,

我的內(nèi)心卻總是茫然。

In my heart I feel at a loss.

祖先教我們緩慢地生活，

Ancestors taught us to live at a slow leisurely pace;

我從未對此產(chǎn)生懷疑，

I have never doubted about this

直至一天在路上，

Until one day on the road

看到了被踩扁的同伴，

I saw a companion get flattened underfoot.

他顫抖的樣子讓我觸目驚心，

The way he quivered shocked me dreadfully,

行人的腳步讓他喪生，

Passing footsteps ended his life,

“慢”卻救不了他的命。

And his “slowness” could not save him.

對死亡的恐懼，

Due to fear of death,

讓我認(rèn)真思考“活著”的問題，

I earnestly pondered the problem of “l(fā)iving”.

怎樣活著才有意義？

How can living be meaningful?

既然“慢”不能讓我們活得更好，

Since “slowness” cannot make my life better,

那么“快”就該是真理。

Then the truth must lie in being “fast”.

我想學(xué)習(xí)“快”的生活

I wanted to learn about living “fast”.

隨處可見比我“快”的老師——螞蟻、瓢蟲，還有毛毛蟲，

In many places I saw teachers faster than me—such as ants and ladybugs, And also caterpillars.