巨龙与公主

I was in Tokyo last spring, walking beneath neon[霓虹灯] signs and cherry blossoms[樱花] with my dear friend Kirsten. Right about the time the sun was setting, we heard the sound of a jazz band coming from an alley[小巷].

But not everyone was enjoying the music. An older homeless man broke through the crowd and started yelling at the band. The musicians did their best to ignore him, but the man would not go away. There were probably two dozen of us watching this unfold—none of us knowing what we could or should do. The homeless man was starting to get more and more violent. He picked up a stick and started banging on the drum set. This was more than the young drummer could take. He stood up and pushed the old man to the ground.

A young man made his way through the crowd. He knelt down next to the old man, took hold of his hand, and asked him if he was all right. I’ll never forget the way he carefully placed his arm around the old man’s shoulders and quietly walked him away.

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage,” Rainer Maria Rilke注 once said. Maybe this old man was a prince in disguise[伪装]. And maybe he was waiting to see someone act, just once, with beauty and courage.

去年春天，我和挚友柯尔斯腾一起漫步于东京街头的霓虹灯广告牌和樱花之下。太阳即将落山的时候，我们听到一条小巷中传来了爵士乐队的演奏声。

但并不是每个人都在欣赏音乐。一个老流浪汉冲进人群，对着乐队叫嚷起来。演奏者们尽量不去理睬他，但他就是不肯离去。我们大概有二十来人看着事态进展——我们都不知道自己能够或者应该做些什么。那个流浪汉变得越来越凶，还捡起一根棍子敲起架子鼓来。年轻的鼓手终于忍无可忍。他站起身来，一把将老人推倒在地上。

一个年轻人拨开人群挤了进来。他半跪在老人身边，握住他的手，问他怎么了。我永远不会忘记他小心翼翼地环抱着老人的肩头，静静地带他离开的情景。

赖内·马利亚·里尔克曾说：“也许我们人生中所有的巨龙都是公主，只是在等待我们带着美好和勇气付诸行动，哪怕只有一次。”也许这位老人便是一位乔装的王子。也许他正在等待有人带着美好和勇气付诸行动，哪怕只有一次。