What is the moral (寓意) of the story?
 这个故事的寓意是什么?

Going home
回家

I first heard this story a few years ago from a girl in New York. Probably the story reappears every few years, to be told in one form or another. However, I still like to think that it really did happen, somewhere, sometime.
 我第一次听到这个故事是很多年前一个纽约女孩告诉我的。可能这个故事每几年都会以不同的形式出现一次。然而,我依旧认为在某个地方,某个时候,真的发生了。

They were going to Florida—three boys and three girls. After they got on the bus, they began talking about the golden beaches in Florida.
 三个男孩和三个女孩准备去佛罗里达。他们坐上公交车后,他们开始讨论佛罗里达的金色沙滩。
 

As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain suit, never moving, silent, his dusty face masking his age.
当车子开过纽泽西的时候,他们开始注意到Vongo。他坐在他们前面,穿了一套素色的套装,很安静,他布满灰尘的脸显出了他的年纪。

Deep into the night, the bus stopped at a café. Everybody got off except Vingo. He sat in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him.
深夜的时候,车子停在了一个咖啡馆外面。除了Vingo外,每个人都下车了。他坐在他的椅子上,年轻人对他感到很奇怪。

“We’re going to Florida,” she said. “I hear it’s really beautiful.”
她说:“我们准备去佛罗里达,我听说那里很美丽。”

“It is,” he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.
“是的。”他安静地说道,就好像在回忆那些他要遗忘的事情一样。

In the morning, they awoke outside a café, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He seemed very shy. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he told his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
早晨,他们在咖啡馆外面醒来。这时候Vingo 进来了。女孩坚持让他加入。他看上去很害羞。当他们回到车里时,女孩又和Vingo坐在一起,过了一会,他开始讲述他的故事,缓慢而痛苦。过去四年,他都在纽约的监狱度过,现在他要回家了。

“Are you married?”
“你结婚了吗?”

“I don’t know.”
“我不知道。”

“You don’t know?”
“你不知道?”

“Well, when I was in jail, I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it hurt too much, well, she could just forget me, I’d understand. I told her she didn’t have to write to me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”
他说:“恩,当我在监狱的时候,我写信给我的妻子说我要出去很上长一段时间。如果她不能忍受,如果孩子一直问她,如果这对她伤害很大,那么她可以忘记我,我会理解的。我告诉她她不需要写信给我。的确,她没有。3年半她没有写过一封。”

“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”
“现在你准备回家了,她也不知道吗?”

"Yeah,” he said shyly. “Well, a week before I was released from jail, I wrote to her again. We used to live in Brunswick, and there’s a big oak tree standing in front of the town. I told her that if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow    handkerchief    on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, just forget it.”
 他说:“是的。一个星期前我从监狱放出来,我再给她写了一封信。我们曾经住在布伦瑞克,小镇的前面有一颗很大的橡树。我告诉她如果她要我回去,她可以在树上绑一块黄色的手帕。我会回家。如果她不需要我,呢么就忘记吧。”
 

“Wow,” the girl exclaimed, “wow!”
女孩惊异地说:“哇,哇!”

She told her friends about the story. As the bus approached Brunswick, Vingo showed them a picture of his wife and three children—the woman was beautiful and the children were cute.
她告诉了她的朋友这个故事。当车子到达布伦瑞克时,Vingo给他们看了她妻子和三个孩子的图片——女人很漂亮,孩子很可爱。

Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree.
现在他们离布伦瑞克20英里了,年轻人轮着坐在右边的窗户座位上,等着那颗大橡树。

Then Brunswick was ten miles away, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo.
离布伦瑞克只有10英里,然后是5英里。突然,青年们从他们的座位上跳了起来,尖叫,呼喊,哭泣,跳着欢快的舞蹈,除了Vingo。

Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs, like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo rose and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.
Vingo不知所措地坐在那,看着那颗橡树。树上满满的都是黄色的手帕,就像在空中飘舞的旗帜欢迎着他。所有的年轻人都在叫,Vingo站起来,走到车子前面准备回家了。

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