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第438章 人生半日间（第1页）

halfaday

人生半日间

Naguibmahfouz

Iproceededalongsidemyfather，clutchinghisrighthand，runningtokeepupwiththelongstrideshewastaking.Allmyclotheswerenew:theblackshoes，thegreenschooluniform，andtheredtarboosh.mydelightinmynewclothes，however，wasnotaltogetherunmarred，forthiswasnofeastdaybutthedayonwhichIwastobecastintoschoolforthefirsttime.

mymotherstoodatthewindowwatchingourprogress，andIwouldturntowardherfromtimetotime，asthoughappealingforhelp.wewalkedalongastreetlinedwithgardens;onbothsideswereextensivefieldsplantedwithcrops，pricklypears，hennatrees，andafewdatepalms.

“whyschool?“Ichallengedmyfatheropenly.“Ishallneverdoanythingtoannoyyou.“

“Imnotpunishingyou，“hesaid，laughing.“Schoolsnotapunishment.Itsthefactorythatmakesusefulmenoutofboys.dontyouwanttobelikeyourfatherandbrothers?“

Iwasnotconvinced.Ididnotbelievetherewasreallyanygoodtobehadintearingmeawayfromtheintimacyofmyhomeandthrowingmeintothisbuildingthatstoodattheendoftheroadlikesomehuge，high-walledfortress，exceedinglystemandgri

whenwearrivedatthegatewecouldseethecourtyard，vastandcrammedfullofboysandgirls.“Goinbyyourself，“saidmyfather，“andjointheputasmileonyourfaceandbeagoodexampletoothers.“

Ihesitatedandclungtohishand，buthegentlypushedmefromhi“beaman，“hesaid.“todayyoutrulybeginlife.Youwillfindmewaitingforyouwhenitstimetoleave.“

Itookafewsteps，thenstoppedandlookedbutsawnothing.thenthefacesofboysandgirlscameintoview.Ididnotknowasingleoneofthem，andnoneofthemknewme.IfeltIwasastrangerwhohadlosthisway.butglancesofcuriosityweredirectedtowardme，andoneboyapproachedandasked，“whobroughtyou?“

“myfather，“Iwhispered.

“myfathersdead，“hesaidquitesimply.

Ididnotknowwhattosay.thegatewasclosed，lettingoutapitiablescreech.Someofthechildrenburstintotears.thebellrang.Aladycamealong，followedbyagroupofmen.themenbegansortingusintoranks.wewereformedintoanintricatepatterninthegreatcourtyardsurroundedonthreesidesbyhighbuildingsofseveralfloors;fromeachfloorwewereoverlookedbyalongbalconyroofedinwood.

“thisisyournewhome，“saidthewoman.“heretootherearemothersandfathers.herethereiseverythingthatisenjoyableandbeneficialtoknowledgeandreligion.dryyourtearsandfacelifejoyfully.“

wesubmittedtothefacts，andthissubmissionbroughtasortofcontentmentLivingbeingsweredrawntootherlivingbeings，andfromthefirstmomentsmyheartmadefriendswithsuchboysasweretobemyfriendsandfellinlovewithsuchgirls，asIwastobeinlovewith，sothatitseemedmy

misgivingshadhadnobasis.Ihadneverimaginedschoolwouldhavethisrichvariety.weplayedallsortsofdifferentgames:swings，thevaultinghorse，ballgames.Inthemusicroomwechantedourfirstsongs.wealsohadourfirstintroductiontolanguage.wesawaglobeoftheEarth，whichrevolvedandshowedthevariouscontinentsandcountries.westartedlearningthenumbers.thestoryofthecreatoroftheuniversewasreadtous，weweretoldofhispresentworldandofhishereafter，andweheardexamplesofwhathesaid.weatedeliciousfood，tookalittlenap，andwokeuptogoonwithfriendshipandlove，playandlearning.

Asourpathrevealeditselftous，however，wedidnotfinditastotallysweetanduncloudedaswehadpresumed.dust-ladenwindsandunexpectedaccidentscameaboutsuddenly，sowehadtobewatchful，attheready，andverypatient.Itwasnotallamatterofplayingandfoolingaround.Rivalriescouldbringaboutpainandhatredorgiverisetofighting.Andwhiletheladywouldsometimessmile，shewouldoftenscowlandscold.Evenmorefrequentlyshewouldresorttophysicalpunishment.

Inaddition，thetimeforchangingonesmindwasoverandgoneandtherewasnoquestionofeverreturningtotheparadiseofhome.Nothinglayaheadofusbutexertion，struggle，andperseverance.thosewhowereabletookadvantageoftheopportunitiesforsuccessandhappinessthatpresentedthemselvesamidtheworries.

thebellrangannouncingthepassingofthedayandtheendofwork.thethrongsofchildrenrushedtowardthegate，whichwasopenedagain.Ibadefarewelltofriendsandsweetheartsandpassedthroughthegate.Ipeeredaroundbutfoundnotraceofmyfather，whohadpromisedtobethere.Isteppedasidetowait.whenIhadwaitedforalongtimewithoutavail，Idecidedtoreturnhomeonmyown.AfterIhadtakenafewsteps，amiddle-agedmanpassedby，andIrealizedatoncethatIknewhihecametowardme，smiling，andshookmebythehand，saying，“Itsalongtimesincewelastmet—howareyou?“

withanodofmyhead，Iagreedwithhimandinturnasked，“Andyou，howareyou?““Asyoucansee，notallthatgood，theAlmightybepraised!“

Againheshookmebythehandandwentoff.Iproceededafewsteps，thencametoastartledhalt.GoodLord!wherewasthestreetlinedwithgardens?wherehaditdisappearedto?whendidallthesevehiclesinvadeit?Andwhendidallthesehordesofhumanityetorestuponitssurface?howdidthesehillsofrefuseetocoveritssides?Andwherewerethefieldsthatborderedit?highbuildingshadtakenover，thestreetsurgedwithchildren，anddisturbingnoisesshooktheair.Atvariouspointsstoodconjurersshowingofftheirtricksandmakingsnakesappearfrombaskets.thentherewasabandannouncingtheopeningofacircus，withclownsandweightlifterswalkinginfront.Alineoftruckscarryingcentralsecuritytroopscrawledmajesticallyby.thesirenofafireengineshrieked，anditwasnotclearhowthevehiclewouldcleaveitswaytoreachtheblazingfire.Abattleragedbetweenataxidriverandhispassenger，whilethepassengerswifecalledoutforhelpandnooneanswered.GoodGod!Iwasinadaze.myheadspun.Ialmostwentcrazy.howcouldallthishavehappenedinhalfaday，betweenearlymorningandsunset?Iwouldfindtheanswerathomewithmyfather.butwherewasmyhome?Icouldseeonlytallbuildingsandhordesofpeople.IhastenedontothecrossroadsbetweentheburdensandAbuKhoda.IhadtocrossAbuKhodatoreachmyhouse，butthestreamofcarswouldnotletup.thefireenginessirenwasshriekingatfullpitchasitmovedatasnail’space，andIsaidtomyself，“Letthefiretakeitspleasureinwhatitconsumes.”Extremelyirritated，IwonderedwhenIwouldbeabletocross.Istoodtherealongtime，untiltheyounglademployedattheironingshoponthecornercameuptome.hestretchedouthisarmandsaidgallantly，“Grandpa，letmetakeyouacross.“

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