“What color are my eyes and fur？” The Catasked. “Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich，warm brown，” the Man replied.
“And where is it that you most often seeme？” Asked the Cat. “I see you…on the kitchenwindows watching the birds…on my favoritechair…on my desk lying on the papers I need…on the pillow next to my head at night.” “Then，whenever you wish to see me， all you must do isclose your eyes，” said the Cat.
“Pick up that piece of string from thefloor-there， my toy.” The Man opened hiseyes， then reached over and pickedup the string. It was about two feetlong and the Cat had been able toentertain himself for hours with it.
“Now take each end of the string inone hand，” the Cat ordered. The Mandid so.
“The end in your left hand is mybirth and the end in your right handis my death. Now bring the two endstogether，” the Cat said. The Mancomplied.
“You have made a continuouscircle，” said the cat. “Does any pointalong the string appear to be different，worse or better than any other partof the string？” The Man inspected thestring and then shook his head “no.”
“Close your eyes again，” the Catsaid. “Now lick your hand.” The Manwidened his eyes in surprise.
“Just do it，” the Cat said. “Lickyour hand， think of me in all myfamiliar places， think about all thepieces of string.”
The Man felt foolish， licking hishand， but he did as he was told. Hediscovered what a cat must know，that licking a paw is very calming andallows one to think more clearly. Hecontinued licking and the corners ofhis mouth turned upward into thefirst smile he had shown in days. Hewaited for the Cat to tell him to stop，and when he didnt， he opened hiseyes. The Cats eyes were closed. TheMan stroked the warm， brown fur，but the Cat was gone.
The Man shut his eyes hardas the tears poured down his face.
He saw the Cat on the windowsill，then in his bed， then lying across hisimportant papers. He saw him onthe pillow next to his head， saw hisbright gold eyes and darkest brownon his nose and ears. He opened hiseyes and through his tears lookedover at the circle of string he still heldclutched in his hand.
One day， not long after， therewas a new Cat on his lap. She was alovely calico and white...very differentfrom his earlier beloved Cat and verymuch the same.
朋友
这一次的旅行使我更了解一个名词的意义，这个名词就是：
朋友。
七八天以前我曾对一个初次见面的朋友说：“在朋友们面前我只感到惭愧。你们待我太好了，我简直没法报答你们。”这并不是谦虚的客气话，这是事实。说过这些话，我第二天就离开了那个朋友，并不知道以后还有没有机会再看见他。但是他给我的那一点点温暖至今还使我的心颤动。
我的生命大概不会很长久罢。然而在短促的对过去的回顾中却有一盏明灯，照彻了我的灵魂和黑暗，使我的生存有一点光彩。这盏灯就是友情。我应该感谢它。因为靠了它我才能够活到现在；而且把旧家庭给我留下的阴影扫除了的也正是它。
世间有不少的人为了家庭抛弃朋友，至少也会在家庭和朋友之间划一个界限，把家庭看得比朋友重若干倍。这似乎是很自然的事情。我也曾亲眼看见一些人结婚以后就离开朋友，离开事业……朋友是暂时的，家庭是永久的。在好些人的行为里我发现了这个信条。这个信条在我这实在是不可理解的。对于我，要是没有朋友，我现在会变成怎样可怜的东西，我自己也不知道。
然而朋友们把我救了。他们给了我家庭所不能给的东西。他们的友爱，他们的帮助，他们的鼓励，几次把我从深渊的边沿救回来。他们对我表示了无限的慷慨。
每一个朋友，不管他自己的生活是怎样苦，怎样简单，也要慷慨地分一些东西给我，虽然明知道我不能够报答他。有些朋友，连他们的名字我以前也不知道，他们却关心我的健康，处处打听我的“病况”，直到他们看见了我那被日光晒黑了的脸和膀子，他们才放心地微笑了。这种情形的确值得人掉眼泪。
最近我在法国哲学家的书里读到了这样的话：“生命的一个条件就是消费……世间有一种不能跟生存分开的慷慨，要是没有了它，我们就会死，就会从内部干枯。我们必须开花。道德、无私心就是人生的花。”
在我的眼前开放着这么多的人生的花朵了。我的生命要到什么时候才会开花？难道我已经是“内部干枯”了么？
一个朋友说过：“我若是灯，我就要用我的光明来照彻黑暗。”
我不配做一盏明灯。那么就让我做一块木柴罢。我愿意把我从太阳那里受到的热放散出来，我愿意把自己烧得粉身碎骨给人间添一点点温暖。
Friends
On my recent travels，I came to realize still morefully the significance of theword “friend”.
Seven or eight days ago，I said to a friend whom I hadjust come to know， “I canthelp feeling embarrassedbefore my friends. Youreall so nice to me. I simplydont know how to repayyour kindness，” I did notmake this remark out ofmere modesty and courtesy.
I truly meant what I said.
The next day， I said goodbyeto this friend， not knowingif I could ever see him again.
But the little warmth thathe gave me has been keepingmy heart throbbing withgratitude.
The length of my dayswill not be unlimited.
However， whenever I lookback on brief past life， I finda beacon illuminating mysoul and thereby lending alittle brightness to my being.
That beacon is friendship.
I should be grateful to itbecause it has helped mekeep alive up to now andclear away the shadow lefton me by my old family.
Many people forsaketheir friends in favor of theirown families， or at leastdraw a line of demarcationbetween families andfriends， considering theformer to be many timesmore important than thelatter. That seems to be amatter of course. I have alsoseen with my own eyes howsome people abandon theirfriends as well as their owncareers soon after they getmarried…Friends are transientwhereas families are lasting-thatis the tenet， as I know， guiding thebehavior of many people. To me， thatis utterly inconceivable. Withoutfriends， I would have been reducedto I dont know what a miserablecreature.
Friends are my saviors. Theygive me things which it is beyondmy family to give me. Thanks totheir fraternal love， assistance andencouragement， I have time and againbeen saved from falling into an abysswhile on its verge. They have beenenormously generous towards me.
No matter how hard up andfrugal my friends themselves were，they would unstintingly share withme whatever they had， althoughthey knew I would not be able torepay them for their kindness. Some，whom I did not even know by name，showed concern over my health andwent about inquiring after me. It wasnot until they saw my suntannedface and arms that they began tosmile a smile of relief. All that wasenough to move one to tears.
Recently I came across thefollowing words in a book by aFrench philosopher： One conditionof life is consumption….Survivalin this world is inseparable fromgenerosity， without which we wouldperish and become dried-up fromwith-in. We must put forth flowers.
Moral integrity and unselfishnessare the flowers of life.
Now so many flowers of life arein full bloom before my eyes. Whencan my life put forth flowers？ Am Ialready dried-up from within？
A friend of mine says， “if I werea lamp， I would illuminate darknesswith my light.”
I， however， dont qualify for abright lamp. Let me be a piece offirewood instead. Ill radiate the heatthat I have absorbed from the sun. Illburn myself to ashes to provide thishuman world with a little warmth.
