正文

John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose.

约翰正在等一位别着玫瑰花的姑娘。他了解她的内在，却不知其样貌如何。

Thirteen months ago, in a Florida library he took a book off the shelf and found himself intrigued（被迷住了的） with the notes in the margin（页边的空白）. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

13个月前，在佛罗里达州的一家图书馆里，他从书架上拿了一本书来读，却被书页边的笔记深深吸引了。从那柔和的笔迹中可以看出，这人肯定有着多思善虑的心灵和富有洞见的头脑。

In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond（回信） .

他在书的封面上找到了这本书的前一个主人的名字——霍利斯·梅奈尔小姐。他花了一番工夫和努力，找到了她的地址。他给她写了一封信介绍自己，并请她回信。

During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A romance was budding（发芽）. John requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like.

在接下来的一年零一个月时间里，两人通过信件往来增进了对彼此的了解。一段浪漫的爱情即将开始。约翰向她要一张照片，却被拒绝了。她觉得如果他真的爱她，是不会在乎她的容貌的。

Later they scheduled their first meeting—7：00 p. m. at Grand Central Station in New York.

后来，他们安排了第一次约会——晚上7点在纽约中央车站。

“You’ll recognize me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel（西服上的翻领） .” So at 7：00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.

“你会认出我的。”她在信中写道，“我会在衣领上别一朵红玫瑰。”于是，约翰便于晚上7点在车站里寻找那个别着红玫瑰的女孩。

A young woman in a green suit was coming toward him, her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40.

一个年轻的绿衣女子向他走来，她的身材修长苗条，眼睛蓝得像花儿。他禁不住向她走近了一步。就在这时，他看见了霍利斯·梅奈尔——一个年过四十的女人。

The girl was walking quickly away. He felt as though he split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld（鼓舞） his own.

女孩很快走开了。约翰感觉自己好像被分成了两半：他是多么强烈地想要跟随那位年轻女子，然而又是如此深深地向往这位在心灵上陪伴他、鼓舞他的女人。

He did not hesitate. He squared his shoulders and said, “I’m John, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?”

他毫不犹豫地走向了霍利斯·梅奈尔，挺起胸膛说：“我是约翰，您一定是梅奈尔小姐。很高兴您能来见我，能赏光和我一起吃饭吗？”

The woman smiled. “I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered, “but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test！”

女人笑了起来，回答道：“孩子，我不知道这是怎么回事，但是那个穿绿衣服的年轻女士求我把这朵玫瑰别在上衣上。她还说如果你约我出去吃饭，我就可以告诉你她在街对面的餐馆等你。她说这是一种考验！”

It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.

梅奈尔小姐的智慧实在是令人钦佩，因为只有通过观察一个人对相貌平平的人的反应，才能看出这个人是否真心实意地对待这份感情。

对内在的爱才是真爱。

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