John Blanchard stood up from the bench，straightened his Army uniform，and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station.
He looked for the girl whose heart he knew，but whose face he didnt，the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun 12 months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself absorbedabsorbed adj.全神贯注的，一心一意的，not by the words of the book，but by the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightfulinsightful adj.富有洞察力的，有深刻见解的 mind.
In the front of the book，he discovered the previous owners name，Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he found her exact address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to write him. The next day he was shipped to another country for service in World War ll.
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A love began to develop. Blanchard requested a photograph，but she refused. She explained： “If your feeling for me has any reality，any honest basis，what I look like wont matter. Suppose Im beautiful Id always be worried by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that，and that kind of love would make me sick. Suppose Im plain (and you must admit that this is more likely). Then I would always fear that you were going on writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. No，dont ask for my picture. When you come to New York，you shall see me and then you shall make your own decision. Remember，both of us are free to stop or to go on after that-whaterer we choose... ”
爱在心灵
约翰·布兰查德从长凳上站起身来，整了整军装，留意着格兰德中央车站进出的人群。
他在寻找一位姑娘，一位佩带玫瑰的姑娘，一位他只知其心、不知其貌的姑娘。十二个月前，在佛罗里达州的一个图书馆，他对她产生了兴趣。他从书架上取下一本书，很快便被吸引住了，不是被书的内容，而是被空白处铅笔写的批语所吸引。柔和的笔迹显示出其人多思善虑的心灵和富有洞察力的头脑。
在书的前页，他找到了书的前任主人的姓名：霍利斯·梅奈尔小姐。他花了一番工夫和努力，找到了她的确切地址。她住在纽约市。他给她写了一封信介绍自己，并请她回复。第二天他被运送到海外，参加第二次世界大战。
在接下来的一年零一个月中，两人通过信件来往增进了对彼此的了解。每一封信都如一颗种子撒入肥沃的心灵之土。浪漫的爱情之花就要绽开。布兰查德提出要一张照片，可她拒绝了。她解释道：“如果你对我的感情是真实的，是诚心诚意的，那我的容貌如何并不重要。设想我美丽动人，我会始终深感不安，唯恐你只是因为我的容貌就贸然与我相爱，而这种爱情令我厌恶。设想本人相貌平平(你得承认，这种可能性更大)，那我就会始终担心，你和我保持通信仅仅是出于孤独寂寞，无人交谈。不，别索要照片。等你到了纽约，你会见到我，到时你可再作定夺。切记，见面后我俩都可以自由决定中止关系或继续交往——无论你我怎么选择……”
Let Go Love
There was once a lonely girl who longed so much for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving songbirds. She took them home and put them in a small cage. She cared them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a wonderful song. The girl felt great love for the birds.
One day the girl left the door to the cage open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl was so frightened that he would fly away. As he flew close，she grasped him wildly. Her heart felt glad at her success in capturingcapture n.捕获，战利品 vt.俘获，捕获，夺取 him. Suddenly she felt the bird go limp. She opened her hand and stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate love had killed him.
She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. He needed to soar into the clear，blue sky. She lifted him from the cage and tossedtoss v.投，掷 him softly into the air. The bird circled once，twice，three times.
The girl watched delightedly at the birds enjoyment. Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss. She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest melodymelody n.悦耳的音调 that she had ever heard.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on it too tight，the best way to keep love is to give it wings！
将爱放飞
从前，有个寂寞的女孩非常渴望爱。一天，她走在丛林中，发现两只快要饿死的小鸟。她把它们带回家，放入一个小笼子。经她悉心照料，鸟儿一天天强壮起来。每天早晨，鸟儿都要用美妙的歌声向她表示问候。女孩不由得爱上了这两只小鸟。
一天，女孩敞开了鸟笼的小门。那只较大较壮的鸟儿飞出了鸟笼。女孩非常害怕鸟儿会飞走。鸟儿飞近时，她死命将它抓住。她十分高兴，终于又把它捉了回来。突然间，她感觉到鸟儿四肢无力。她张开手，惊恐地盯着手中的死鸟。她不顾一切的爱害死了鸟儿。
她注意到另一只鸟儿在笼边扑闪着翅膀。她可以感觉到它对自由的无限向往。它渴望冲向明净的蓝天。她将它举起，轻轻抛向空中。鸟儿盘旋了一圈，两圈，三圈。
看到鸟儿快乐的样子，女孩很高兴。她的内心不再计较自己的得失。她希望鸟儿幸福。突然，鸟儿飞近了，轻轻落在她的肩上，唱起了她从未听过的最动人的歌。
失去爱的方法，最快莫过于将其牢牢地抓在手心；令爱长驻的方法，最好莫过于赋予它一双翅膀——将爱放飞！
A Boy with a Mission
In 1945，a 12yearold boy saw something in a shop window that set his heart racing. But the price-five dollarswas far beyond Reuben Earles means. Five dollars would buy almost a weeks groceriesgrocery n. 食品；杂货 for his family.
Reuben couldnt ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made through fishing in Bay Roberts，Newfoundland，Canada. Reubens mother，Dora，stretched like elastic to feed and clothe their five children.
Nevertheless，he opened the shops weathered door and went inside. Standing proud and straight in his floursack shirt and washedout trousers，he told the shopkeeper what he wanted，adding，“But I dont have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time？”
“Ill try，”the shopkeeper smiled. “Folks around here dont usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”
Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the sunlight with the bay rippling in a freshening wind. There was purpose in his loping stride. He would raise the five dollars and not tell anybody.
Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street，Reuben had an idea.
He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts，using nails purchased in hessian sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of building，and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece.
That day he found two sacks，which he took to the ramblingramble adj.漫步的，散漫的，流浪性的 wooden factory and sold to the man in charge of packing nails.
The boys hand tightly clutched the fivecent pieces as he ran the two kilometers home.
Near his house stood the ancient barn that housed the familys goats and chickens. Reuben found a rusty soda tin and dropped his coins inside. Then he climbed into the loft of the barn and hid the tin beneath a pile of sweet smelling hay.
