小凤阿姨

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我近十一岁时，妈妈生了老三。家里雇佣了一个小阿姨，名叫小凤。小凤是由父母的好朋友介绍过来的，来自于五十里之外的一个乡镇。她虽然只有十九岁，可是个子高，大约有一米七，这在当时当地算是比较突出的了。她长得也很标致。小凤吃住都在我家，可是我家房间有限，所以她与我同睡一张床，当然是各睡一头。

小凤十分勤快，家里什么杂事都干：照看小弟弟、做饭、洗衣，包括从大河里挑水回家，她从不叫累，似乎有使不完的劲。

我们住在镇上的公社办公大院里，妈妈在同院的办公室上班，爸爸在镇上的供销社上班。所以白天我和小凤在家相处的时间最多，她喜欢说话，我喜欢听。她常常一边做事，一边跟我讲故事，她总是有讲不完的故事。有时她也跟我谈谈人间世故，发发感慨，我总是好奇地、似懂非懂地听着。印象最深的就是有一次她说，我们每个人身上都有一个灵魂，当我们死了后，我们的灵魂会离开我们的身体，逆向顺着我们在世间留下的足迹，一步一步地收回我们的脚印。所以无论将来我们到多远的地方，我们的灵魂还是要回访我们的故乡的，也会与我们曾经相处的人有接触的。我听了将信半疑，心里想，这要是离家很远很远的，死后灵魂还得花很长的时间才能收完脚印呢。

几个月后，小凤渐渐长胖，肚子也大起来了。一天，我妈问她怎么回事，她如实地说出了意外的缘由。她来我家之前就怀孕了，可是她还没有结婚，为了逃避家乡的耳目，她只好离开家乡来到我家。男方的具体情况我记不清楚了，好像是男方是已婚的或者是太老，反正是小凤父母不同意的。总之，小凤是不可以与男方结婚的。后来小凤的父母来到我家，表示希望小凤继续留在我家，直到小孩出生。我妈说这样影响不好，还是安排小凤到其它地方吧。就这样小凤在我家总共呆了五个月时间。

小凤走后的一段时间，我很想念她，想着她跟我讲的故事，想着她漂亮的面孔和笑容。她是我的好朋友。

不知现在小凤在哪儿。但愿她生活幸福。

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【英文翻译练习版】

Nanny Xiaofeng

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When I was eleven years old, my mother gave birth to my little brother.  We hired a nanny by the name of Xiaofeng.  Xiaofeng came with recommendation from a close friend of our family.  She was from a small town about 30 miles away.  At the age of nineteen, she was about 5’7” tall -- a height considered extraordinary for a girl in that region.  She was good looking, too. She ate and lived in my home.  Due to space limitation, she shared a bed with me, on opposite ends, of course.

Xiaofeng was hard working and did all the household chores: taking care of my baby brother, cooking meals, doing laundry, and even carrying the water in buckets from the river to our home.  She was always full of energy and never complained of being tired.

We lived in the township administration building complex.  My mother worked in the administration office, and my father worked in the downtown co-op store.  So, during the day I had a lot of interaction with Xiaofeng at home.  She was very talkative, and I was a good listener.  She often told me interesting stories while attending to her work.  She had a lot of stories to tell.  Sometimes she would tell me ideas about our lives and worldly affairs, and then she would sigh. I was curious, but I could barely understand some of her ideas.  I remember one time she told me that everyone has a soul in his body, and after one dies his soul will leave his body, trace back his footsteps, and collect them all the way to his birthplace.  So wherever we go someday, no matter how far away, our souls will return to visit the people we interacted with since childhood.  This was too profound for me to comprehend.  Jeez, I thought, what if I ended up in a really, really faraway place?  I wondered how long it would take for my soul to trace back and collect all of my footsteps.

A few months passed, and Xiaofeng gained a lot of weight.  Her body became fuller.  One day, my mother asked her what was going on.  She told a surprising story.  She had already become pregnant when she first came to our home.  However, she was not married.  In order to avoid the public eye in her hometown, she had to get away from there.  So, coming to my home as a nanny provided the opportunity.  We did not know anything about the child’s father, except that he was either already married or too old for Xiaofeng, and her marriage was out of the question as far as Xiaofeng’s parents were concerned. There's absolutely no way Xiaofeng could get married with the guy.  Shortly afterward Xiaofeng’s parents paid a visit to my home.  They expressed their desire to have Xiaofeng continue to stay in my home till she gave birth to the child.  My mother said that such an arrangement would not be appropriate and that Xiaofeng should be better taken care of somewhere else.  In the end, Xiaofeng spent a total of five months in my home. 

For a long time after she left, I missed Xiaofeng.  I often thought of her, recalling the stories she told me and remembering her beautiful face and sweet smiles.  She was my friend.

I wonder where Xiaofeng is now.  I wish her happiness.

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