The Premature Gecko Babies
Written by/ Miao-Yi Tu Translated by/ Kris Chen
I have always been proud of my tidiness-loving characteristic. It is a charming virtue to keep window scrystal-clear and tables dustless. It is pleasing. I guess such life habits were learned from my mother’s example. In my memory, after work when mother came back home, she always picked up a rag and mopped here and there wherever she passed by. Even in her childhood when she lived in the countryside, she still kept up such a fine virtue of keeping tidiness even while being busy with farming. The terrazzo floor was often so shining clean that one could even have a lunchtime nap on it.
I’d never thought of the trap hidden behind such a characteristic until the two gecko babies appeared.
It was a night as cool aswater. I was in a good mood, usinga rag as usual, mopping here and there wherever I went. All corners of the house seemed to have been tidied up by me. I wiped offthe dust on bookshelves, and diligently moved away those heavy file holders to clear up dust at the corners. There seemed to be snow white things at the dim corners, I flapped the ragto clear them out without any hesitation. Just at that moment, I heard a delicate and crispy breaking sound!
I was stunned for a few seconds, “Ah!” In the snow white pile of broken pieces, what appearing to my eyes were two gecko babies twisting weakly. Ah! It was two geckoeggs that I had broken with the dust rag, and they were two hatching and developing little lives. I stood there dully at the scene, motionless, staring at these two “premature” geckobabies striving to crawl: one still with the stamina to keep alive, the other seeming to be breathing its last.
Feeling sad, I continued the unfinished tidying-up job, turning over another books helf, around the narrow and dim corners behind the file holders, I found another two geckoeggs again. This time, I didn’t disturb them any more, but left them alone, and prayed for these two hatching geckoeggs to be safe and intact with a feeling of confession.
Summeris a fruitful season: berries of plants are maturing, and animals are due to be productive. The mother of these geckoeggs, who might have run into me in the past, had lived with me together underthe same roof. I was fond of planting flowers, so there were a lot of mosquitoes in the house, and she ate mosquitoes. We were supposed to share a symbiotic relationship, but the space for survival was so minimal forher, so minimal that it was even ignored by me.
The virtue of being a clean lady is worthy of praise. However, every creature has its right of life. Even a tiny gecko egg has its right forsurvival, which still needs to be respected.
You good housewives who use rags to mop here and there wherever you go, bend your waists to have a closer look at the corners. Do not harm the rights of lives of tiny creatures because of ignorance, but treat these tiny lives with a compassionate heart.
The next day, I searched the scene where the geckoeggs had burst and broken, but only the shredded snow white crusts were seen. The two “premature” gecko babies hadgone somewhere to grow. I seemed to be relieved a little bit, comforting myself that the gecko babies had survived the hazardous event, sooner or later they would be on the wall humminga lullaby. But the delicate andcrispy breaking sound, still whispered in my heart now and then.
（後記:將作品翻譯成英文是一種實驗，感謝好友Kris百忙中抽空幫忙翻譯的工作，還有她美國友人協助校對，翻譯最難的是把原文的風格展現，目前這些翻譯的文章都還比較像中式英文，外國人可能會讀不太懂，不過，還可以再修改，我先放進部落格，文友也給我很多很好的建議，非常感謝！）
早產的壁虎寶寶 ◎凃妙沂
喜愛清潔的特質向來是我自己引以自豪的，窗明几淨是一種迷人的美德，令人愉悅，我想我這樣的生活習慣是緣自於母親的身教吧，記憶中的母親下了班在家裡，總是一塊抹布走到那裡擦到那裡，即便是童幼時期住在鄉下，忙於農事的母親仍然保持清潔的好美德，磨石子地板經常乾淨發亮到可以睡午覺的地步。
我從未曾想過這個特質背後隱藏的陷井，直到那兩隻壁虎寶寶的出現。
那是一個清涼如水的夜裏，好心情的我又習慣擰著一塊抹布，走到那裡擦到那裡，屋子裡的角落似乎都被我照料過了，我擦拭書架上的塵灰，勤勞地搬開厚重的資料夾，打算清理角落的塵埃，書架上昏暗的角落彷彿有雪白的東西，我不假思索抹布一揮一併處理，就在那時，我聽到一種細微而脆弱的蹦裂聲！
我頓了幾秒鐘，「嚇！」我眼睛同時看到雪白碎片堆裡，兩隻虛弱地蠕動身子的壁虎寶寶。啊！原來我抹布擦破的是兩粒壁虎蛋，而且是正在孵育成長的小生命。我呆立現場，一動也不動，眼睜睜看著兩隻「早產」的壁虎寶寶奮力爬著，一隻還算有活的氣力，另一隻似乎奄奄一息。
我難過地繼續未完成的清潔工作，翻開另一個書架，在資料夾背後窄小幽暗的角落裡，赫然又發現兩粒壁虎蛋，這一次我不再驚擾牠們，保留現場，帶著贖罪心情祈禱這兩粒孵育中的壁虎蛋安然無恙。
夏季是豐收的季節，植物的漿果成熟了，動物們也屆臨生產季節，這幾粒壁虎蛋的壁虎媽媽，昔日或曾與我打過照面的，也一直與我共同生活在同一屋簷下相安無事。我素愛種植花木，屋裡蚊蟲多，牠會吃蚊子，我們理應是共生關係的，而牠所需的生存空間其實很小，小到被我疏忽了。
清潔婦的美德令人敬佩，然而生物皆有生命權，即便是一粒小小壁虎蛋生存權，仍需獲得尊重。
擰著一塊抹布走到那裡擦到那裡的賢慧主婦啊，彎下腰來看看角落，不要因為疏忽而傷害小小生物的生命權，用一種慈悲心看待這些小生命。
翌日，當我再找到壁虎寶寶蛋蹦破的現場，只見雪白的碎殼，兩隻「早產」的壁虎寶寶已不知去向，我似乎鬆了一口氣，安慰自己壁虎寶寶劫後餘生，不久就會在牆壁上鳴唱晚安曲了，而那一聲細微而脆弱的破裂聲，卻不時在心裡低迴著。
文章定位：
