做人

母亲病了，住在医院里，我去守护她。

很多人来探望母亲，他们带来各种各样的水果和补品。每一个人来，母亲都说： “你有 心来探望我这把老骨头，我就很感激了；怎么能再让你破费？快把东西带回去给小孩吃。 ”

那些人自然不会把东西带回去。母亲叫我把东西硬塞回他们的怀里，可他们鬼机灵地 把东西扔在桌子上就跑了。

母亲吃不了那么多水果和补品，就叫我也吃，一边看我吃，一边问： “好吃吗？”

我说： “好吃。 ”

过了两天，表哥来看望我的母亲，表哥手里空空的，没有水果，也没有补品，可是他 临走时掏出一张百元大钞放在母亲的枕头边。

母亲赶紧捡起钱，要还给表哥。

表哥转身 就走，母亲把钱递给我，指着表哥的背景说： “快。 ”

我接过钱去追表哥，追出很远才追上。

表哥死活不肯要回钱。我硬把钱放在他的口 袋里说： “快收下，别惹我妈生气。 ”

表哥摇摇头，无可奈何地说： “大姨这个人，心太好。 ”

我完成任务回到病房，母亲仰身半坐地问： “你表哥要不要？” 13)“他哪里肯要，我硬放进他口袋里去。 ”

母亲的头落回到枕头上，她不再说话，好久，才长长地叹了一口气。

我赶紧凑到 床前问： “你哪里不舒服？”

母亲伸出枯瘦的手抚摸我的脸说： “你几时才学会做人？”

我惶恐地问： “我哪里做错了？”

母亲抿抿嘴，似笑非笑地说： “我是你表哥的大姨，病成这个样子了，他给一百块钱 不应该吗？”

我恍然大悟，转身再去追表哥。

母亲一把拉住我的衣摆说： “你又错了。 ”

Learn the Ways of the World

My mother was hospitalized and I was often at her bedside, looking after her.

She had lots of visitors, who invariably came with different kinds of fruit and tonics. Invariably she would decline thus, “I’m thankful enough to you for coming to see me. How can I bear to see you go to such expenses for my sake? Come on! Take those things back with you for your kids.”

Naturally, no caller would accept her suggestion, and mother would ask me to press the presents back into the hands of the guests, who would very cleverly leave the things on the table and quickly get away.

Not being able to consume so many nice things all by herself, she would invite me to share with her, and watching me eating, she would ask, “Aren’t they delicious?”

“Yes, they are, they are.”

Two days later, my elder male cousin on mother’s side came to see her, empty-handed. But before he left, he produced a one-hundred-yuan banknote and put it beside Mother’s pillow.

She hurriedly picked it up as a gesture of declination.

My cousin quickly turned and left the ward. Mother handed the money to me, and pointing to his receding figure, and said, “Quick!”

I went after him with the money. It took me a long time before I intercepted him.

He simply wouldn’t take it back, but I succeeded in stuffing the banknote right into his pocket. “Take it back, please,” I said, “or my mother’ll be very angry.”

“Auntie indeed has a heart of gold,” my cousin said in admiration, which was emphasized with a resigned movement of the head.

Having carried out mother’s injunction, I returned to her side. She half rose from her lying position and asked, “Did he take it back?”

“No, he wouldn’t. I jammed it into his pocket.”

Mother’s head dropped back onto the pillow. She was silent for a long, long moment, and then let out a deep, deep sigh.

I hurried over to the head of her bed and inquired concernedly, “Are you OK?”

She stroked my face with her emaciated hand and muttered, “When ever will you learn the ways of the world?”

“Have I done anything wrong?” I asked in trepidation.

Trying hard to compose her features into a smile, she let me into her thoughts. “I’m seriously ill. Shouldn’t he, my nephew, give me 100 yuan?”

Thoroughly enlightened as to her real intentions, I wheeled about, ready to catch my cousin again.

She stopped my by gripping the hem of my coat, and murmured, “You’re wrong again.