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By the time the Lord made the first mother, he was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said, “Why are you spending so much time on this one?”
And the Lord answered and said, “Have you read the spec1 sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic2 ; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands.”
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. “Six pairs of hands！ No way!” said the Angel.
The Lord replied, “Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!”
“And that’s on the standard model?” the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, “Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant3 child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word.”
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, “But you have made her so soft, Lord.”
“She is soft,” the Lord agreed, “but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.”
“Will she be able to think?” asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, “Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate4.”
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. “Oops, it looks like there’s a leak in her face. You were trying to put too much into this one.”
“That’s not a leak.” the Lord objected. “That’s a tear!”
“What’s the tear for?” the Angel asked.
The Lord said, “The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride.”
The Angel was impressed. “You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!”
The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, “I’m afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!”
等到上帝创造第一位母亲时，他已经超时工作进入第六天。一位天使出现了，问道：“您为什么花这么长时间造这个人？”
上帝回答说：“你读没读说明书？她必须是可洗的，但不是橡胶的；她有200个可活动的零件，全部可以更换；她靠清咖啡和剩饭剩菜运转；她的腿上可以同时坐上三个孩子，而她站起身时，这腿又恢复正常长度；她的吻能治愈一切，从擦伤的膝盖到破碎的心；她还有六双手。”
天使听了大吃一惊。“六双手！不可能！”他说。
上帝回答：“哦，手并不是难题。母亲必须有三双眼睛，这才是最难做的！”
“标准模型上是这样的吗？”天使问。
上帝点点头：“是的。一双眼睛能看穿紧闭的房门，尽管她已经知道，但她还是要问孩子们在做什么。另一双眼睛长在后脑勺儿上面，能看到她需要知道的动静，尽管没有人认为她能看得见。 还有一双眼睛在这里，在头部前边儿，它们用来关注一个误入歧途的孩子，尽管她默默无语，但那眼神表明她对这个孩子充满了理解，充满了爱。”
天使靠近些，抚摸那女人，说：“但是，上帝，您把她做得如此柔软。”
“她是很柔软，”上帝表示同意，“但是我也让她坚强。你想象不出来她能够忍受多少，能够成就多少。”
“她能思考吗？”天使问。
上帝回答：“她不仅能思考，还能够推理，能够与人协商。”
这时天使注意到了什么，伸出手去触摸女人的面颊。“哎呀，她脸上好像有一个漏洞。您试图在这件作品中注入太多的东西。”
“那不是什么漏洞，”上帝指出，“那是一滴眼泪！”
“眼泪有什么用？”天使问。
上帝说：“眼泪是她用来表达喜悦、悲哀、失望、痛苦、孤独、忧伤和骄傲的。”
天使被深深地感动了：“上帝，您真了不起。您为这件作品想到了一切。您甚至造出了眼泪！”
上帝看着天使，露出微笑，说：“恐怕你又错了。我造了女人，但眼泪却是她自己创造的！”
明达 译 刘武 摘自English Salon
And the Lord answered and said, “Have you read the spec1 sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic2 ; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands.”
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. “Six pairs of hands！ No way!” said the Angel.
The Lord replied, “Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!”
“And that’s on the standard model?” the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, “Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant3 child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word.”
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, “But you have made her so soft, Lord.”
“She is soft,” the Lord agreed, “but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.”
“Will she be able to think?” asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, “Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate4.”
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. “Oops, it looks like there’s a leak in her face. You were trying to put too much into this one.”
“That’s not a leak.” the Lord objected. “That’s a tear!”
“What’s the tear for?” the Angel asked.
The Lord said, “The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride.”
The Angel was impressed. “You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!”
The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, “I’m afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!”
等到上帝创造第一位母亲时，他已经超时工作进入第六天。一位天使出现了，问道：“您为什么花这么长时间造这个人？”
上帝回答说：“你读没读说明书？她必须是可洗的，但不是橡胶的；她有200个可活动的零件，全部可以更换；她靠清咖啡和剩饭剩菜运转；她的腿上可以同时坐上三个孩子，而她站起身时，这腿又恢复正常长度；她的吻能治愈一切，从擦伤的膝盖到破碎的心；她还有六双手。”
天使听了大吃一惊。“六双手！不可能！”他说。
上帝回答：“哦，手并不是难题。母亲必须有三双眼睛，这才是最难做的！”
“标准模型上是这样的吗？”天使问。
上帝点点头：“是的。一双眼睛能看穿紧闭的房门，尽管她已经知道，但她还是要问孩子们在做什么。另一双眼睛长在后脑勺儿上面，能看到她需要知道的动静，尽管没有人认为她能看得见。 还有一双眼睛在这里，在头部前边儿，它们用来关注一个误入歧途的孩子，尽管她默默无语，但那眼神表明她对这个孩子充满了理解，充满了爱。”
天使靠近些，抚摸那女人，说：“但是，上帝，您把她做得如此柔软。”
“她是很柔软，”上帝表示同意，“但是我也让她坚强。你想象不出来她能够忍受多少，能够成就多少。”
“她能思考吗？”天使问。
上帝回答：“她不仅能思考，还能够推理，能够与人协商。”
这时天使注意到了什么，伸出手去触摸女人的面颊。“哎呀，她脸上好像有一个漏洞。您试图在这件作品中注入太多的东西。”
“那不是什么漏洞，”上帝指出，“那是一滴眼泪！”
“眼泪有什么用？”天使问。
上帝说：“眼泪是她用来表达喜悦、悲哀、失望、痛苦、孤独、忧伤和骄傲的。”
天使被深深地感动了：“上帝，您真了不起。您为这件作品想到了一切。您甚至造出了眼泪！”
上帝看着天使，露出微笑，说：“恐怕你又错了。我造了女人，但眼泪却是她自己创造的！”
明达 译 刘武 摘自English Salon