ขาว — Page 1
The puppy arrived on a Tuesday in March, when the air still carried the last coolness of the dry season before the heat closed in for good.
小狗是在三月的一个星期二来的，那时空气中还留着旱季最后的凉意，酷热尚未彻底笼罩大地。
Nipa was eleven years old, and she had been asking for a dog since she was seven, with the particular persistence of a child who understands that time is on her side.
妮帕十一岁，从七岁起就一直在要求养一条狗，带着那种特有的执着——一个明白时间站在自己这边的孩子的执着。
Her mother, Malee, had not exactly said yes.
她的母亲玛丽并没有明确地答应。
She had said, "We'll see," which Nipa understood, correctly, as a conditional yes — conditional on the right dog, the right moment, the alignment of circumstances that her mother would recognize when she saw it.
她说的是"再看看"，妮帕正确地将这话理解为一个有条件的答应——条件是合适的狗、合适的时机、以及母亲一眼便能认出的那种缘分的汇聚。
And so when their neighbor's dog had a litter in February, Nipa had simply waited.
于是，当邻居家的狗在二月里产下一窝小狗时，妮帕只是静静地等待着。
She did not campaign.
她没有游说。
She did not argue.
她没有争辩。
She brought her mother to see the puppies once, casually, on the way back from the market, and let the puppies do the rest.
她只是在一次从市场回来的路上，漫不经心地带母亲去看了看那些小狗，然后让小狗们自己发挥。
There were five of them, and four were unremarkable in the way that all puppies are unremarkable — that is to say, they were perfect and identical and impossible to choose between.
一共有五只，其中四只平凡无奇，就像所有小狗一样平凡无奇——也就是说，它们完美、相似，根本无从选择。
But the fifth was white.
但第五只是白色的。
Not the yellowish white of old paper or the grey-white of river stones, but a clean, dense white, the color of frangipani petals in the hour after they fall.
不是旧纸张那种泛黄的白，也不是河石那种灰白，而是一种干净、浓密的白，像鸡蛋花花瓣落下后那一时辰里的颜色。
He was smaller than the others and he sat slightly apart, not from shyness but from some quality of self-possession that seemed improbable in something so new to the world.
它比其他的小狗都要小，稍稍与它们分开坐着，不是因为害羞，而是出于某种沉着自持的气质——这种气质出现在一个如此新生的生命身上，显得不可思议。
Nipa did not point at him.
妮帕没有用手指它。
She let her mother see him.
她让母亲自己去看。
Malee said nothing for a long moment.
玛丽沉默了好一会儿。
Then she said, "That one will need a lot of bathing."
然后她说："那只要经常洗澡。"
Nipa knew this was yes.
妮帕知道，这就是答应了。
Vocabulary
- 小狗
- xiǎo gǒu — Small dog; puppy
- 是
- shì — To be; is, are, am
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; to be located at
- 三月
- sān yuè — March; the third month of the year
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 一个
- yī gè — One; a single unit or item
- 星期二
- xīng qī èr — Tuesday; the second day of the week
- 来
- lái — To come; to arrive at a place
- 那时
- nà shí — At that time; back then
- 空气
- kōng qì — Air; the atmosphere around us
- 中
- zhōng — In, within, among; middle
- 还
- hái — Still, yet; also, in addition
- 留着
- liú zhe — Retaining; keeping something present or lingering
- 旱季
- hàn jì — Dry season; period of little rainfall
- 最后
- zuì hòu — Last; final; at the very end
- 凉意
- liáng yì — A hint of coolness; slight cool feeling
- 酷热
- kù rè — Intense heat; extremely hot weather
- 尚未
- shàng wèi — Not yet; still has not happened
- 彻底
- chè dǐ — Thoroughly; completely; to the very end
- 笼罩
- lǒng zhào — To envelop; to shroud or cover completely
- 大地
- dà dì — The earth; the vast land beneath us
- 十一岁
- shí yī suì — Eleven years old; age of eleven
- 从
- cóng — From; since; starting from a point
- 七岁
- qī suì — Seven years old; age of seven
- 起
- qǐ — Starting from; beginning at a time or place
- 就
- jiù — Then; already; as early as
- 一直
- yī zhí — Continuously; all along; straight ahead
- 要求
- yāo qiú — To request; to demand; a requirement
- 养
- yǎng — To raise; to keep a pet or animal
- 一条
- yī tiáo — One (used for long or flexible objects like dogs)
- 狗
- gǒu — Dog; a domesticated canine animal
- 带着
- dài zhe — Carrying; bringing along; bearing something
- 那种
- nà zhǒng — That kind of; that type of thing
- 特有
- tè yǒu — Unique to; characteristic of; exclusively belonging
- 执着
- zhí zhuó — Persistent; stubbornly devoted; tenacious determination
- 明白
- míng bai — To understand; clear; aware of something
- 时间
- shí jiān — Time; a period or duration
- 站在
- zhàn zài — Standing at or on; to be on someone's side
- 自己
- zì jǐ — Oneself; one's own self
- 这边
- zhè biān — This side; over here
- 孩子
- hái zi — Child; children; kid
- 她
- tā — She; her; third-person feminine pronoun
- 母亲
- mǔ qīn — Mother; one's female parent
- 并没有
- bìng méi yǒu — Did not at all; emphatically has not
- 明确
- míng què — Clear and definite; explicit; unambiguous
- 地
- de — Adverbial particle linking adjective to verb
- 答应
- dā ying — To agree; to promise; to respond positively
- 说
- shuō — To say; to speak; to tell
- 再看看
- zài kàn kan — Let's wait and see; look again later
- 正确
- zhèng què — Correct; accurate; right
- 将
- jiāng — To take; to use; will (future marker)
- 这话
- zhè huà — These words; this statement or remark
- 理解
- lǐ jiě — To understand; to comprehend; interpretation
- 为
- wéi — As; to be; for the purpose of
- 有条件
- yǒu tiáo jiàn — Conditional; subject to certain conditions
- 条件
- tiáo jiàn — Condition; requirement; terms of agreement
- 合适
- hé shì — Suitable; appropriate; fitting the situation
- 时机
- shí jī — Right moment; opportunity; favorable timing
- 以及
- yǐ jí — As well as; and; along with
- 一眼
- yī yǎn — At a glance; one look; instantly upon seeing
- 便能
- biàn néng — Can then; will be able to immediately
- 认出
- rèn chū — To recognize; to identify upon seeing
- 缘分
- yuán fèn — Fate; destined connection between people or things
- 汇聚
- huì jù — To converge; to gather together at one point
- 于是
- yú shì — Therefore; so; as a result
- 当
- dāng — When; at the time of; while
- 邻居
- lín jū — Neighbor; person living nearby
- 家
- jiā — Home; family; household
- 二月
- èr yuè — February; the second month of the year
- 里
- lǐ — Inside; within; in
- 产下
- chǎn xià — To give birth to; to deliver offspring
- 一窝
- yī wō — A litter; one batch of newborn animals
- 时
- shí — When; at the time; during
- 只是
- zhǐ shì — Just; merely; only; simply
- 静静
- jìng jìng — Quietly; silently; in a still manner
- 等待
- děng dài — To wait; to await patiently
- 着
- zhe — Particle indicating ongoing action or state
- 没有
- méi yǒu — To not have; there is no; did not
- 游说
- yóu shuì — To lobby; to persuade through persistent talking
- 争辩
- zhēng biàn — To argue; to debate; to dispute verbally
- 一次
- yī cì — Once; one time; a single occasion
- 市场
- shì chǎng — Market; marketplace; shopping area
- 回来
- huí lái — To come back; to return
- 路上
- lù shàng — On the way; along the road
- 漫不经心
- màn bù jīng xīn — Casually; carelessly; in an absent-minded way
- 带
- dài — To bring; to take along; to lead
- 去
- qù — To go; to leave toward a destination
- 看了看
- kàn le kàn — Took a look; glanced briefly at something
- 那些
- nà xiē — Those; referring to previously mentioned things
- 然后
- rán hòu — Then; after that; subsequently
- 让
- ràng — To let; to allow; to make someone do
- 小狗们
- xiǎo gǒu men — Puppies; plural form of small dogs
- 发挥
- fā huī — To display; to give free rein; to bring out
- 一共
- yī gòng — In total; altogether; all together
- 有
- yǒu — To have; there is/are; to exist
- 五只
- wǔ zhī — Five (animals); five individual creatures
- 其中
- qí zhōng — Among them; within that group
- 四只
- sì zhī — Four (animals); four individual creatures
- 平凡无奇
- píng fán wú qí — Ordinary and unremarkable; nothing special about them
- 就像
- jiù xiàng — Just like; exactly as; resembling
- 所有
- suǒ yǒu — All; every; the entirety of something
- 一样
- yī yàng — The same; alike; identical to something else
- 也就是说
- yě jiù shì shuō — That is to say; in other words; meaning
- 它们
- tā men — They; them (referring to non-human things)
- 完美
- wán měi — Perfect; flawless; without any defect
- 相似
- xiāng sì — Similar; resembling each other; alike
- 根本
- gēn běn — Fundamentally; at all; simply impossible
- 无从
- wú cóng — No way to; unable to; having no means
- 选择
- xuǎn zé — To choose; to select; a choice
- 但
- dàn — But; however; yet
- 第五只
- dì wǔ zhī — The fifth one (animal); fifth creature
- 白色
- bái sè — White color; the color white
- 不是
- bú shì — Is not; are not; negation of to be
- 泛黄
- fàn huáng — Yellowing; turning yellow with age
- 白
- bái — White; the color white; pale
- 也不是
- yě bú shì — Nor is it; neither is it; also not
- 灰白
- huī bái — Grayish white; pale whitish-gray color
- 而是
- ér shì — But rather; instead it is; on the contrary
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A kind of; a type of; one sort
- 干净
- gān jìng — Clean; pure; neat and tidy
- 浓密
- nóng mì — Thick and dense; lush; richly full
- 像
- xiàng — To resemble; like; similar to
- 鸡蛋花
- jī dàn huā — Plumeria; frangipani flower; egg-yolk flower
- 花瓣
- huā bàn — Flower petal; one leaf of a flower
- 落下
- luò xià — To fall down; to drop; to descend
- 后
- hòu — After; behind; following in time
- 那
- nà — That; those; referring to something specific
- 颜色
- yán sè — Color; hue; shade of color
- 它
- tā — It; third-person pronoun for non-human things
- 比
- bǐ — Compared to; than; more than
- 其他
- qí tā — Other; the rest; the others
- 都要
- dōu yào — All are; comparatively even more so
- 小
- xiǎo — Small; little; tiny in size
- 稍稍
- shāo shāo — Slightly; a little bit; somewhat
- 与
- yǔ — And; with; together with
- 分开
- fēn kāi — Separated; apart; to split away from
- 坐着
- zuò zhe — Sitting; in a seated position
- 因为
- yīn wèi — Because; due to; for the reason that
- 害羞
- hài xiū — Shy; bashful; easily embarrassed
- 出于
- chū yú — Stemming from; arising out of; due to
- 某种
- mǒu zhǒng — A certain kind of; some sort of
- 沉着自持
- chén zhuó zì chí — Calm and self-composed; composed self-restraint
- 气质
- qì zhì — Temperament; disposition; innate quality or aura
- 这种
- zhè zhǒng — This kind of; this type of
- 出现
- chū xiàn — To appear; to emerge; to show up
- 如此
- rú cǐ — Like this; such; in this way
- 新生
- xīn shēng — Newborn; newly born; fresh life
- 生命
- shēng mìng — Life; living existence; a living being
- 身上
- shēn shàng — On one's body; on someone or something
- 显得
- xiǎn de — To appear; to seem; to look like
- 不可思议
- bù kě sī yì — Unbelievable; inconceivable; beyond imagination
- 用手
- yòng shǒu — Using one's hand; with the hand
- 指
- zhǐ — To point at; finger; to indicate
- 去看
- qù kàn — To go and look; to go see something
- 沉默
- chén mò — Silent; quiet; to keep silent
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or change
- 好
- hǎo — Good; well; a good while; quite a
- 一会儿
- yī huì r — A little while; a moment; briefly
- 那只
- nà zhī — That one (animal); that particular creature
- 要
- yào — Will need to; must; to want
- 经常
- jīng cháng — Often; frequently; regularly
- 洗澡
- xǐ zǎo — To bathe; to take a shower or bath
- 知道
- zhī dào — To know; to be aware of something
- 这
- zhè — This; referring to something nearby or just mentioned
- 就是
- jiù shì — Is exactly; precisely; that is the one
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